Golden Gloves
by TheFaintHeart
Summary: Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision: Muhammad Ali. Bella won't let anything get in the way of her goal to be on the Women's Olympic Boxing Team, including The Major.
1. Never Let Your Guard Down

A/N Special thanks to my friend TellMeTheTruth, she fixed the awkward sections and gave me the encouragement needed to share this with you.

All my boxing knowledge comes from Wikipedia, my apologies if I get any terminology wrong.

Finally, I don't own anything Twilight related.

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Chapter 1: Never Let Your Guard Down

"Inactivity is the biggest sin in boxing." ~Sugar Ray Leonard

I was always amazed at the amount of people that show up to Amateur Fight Night. I knew there were some well known names fighting on the night's card; mine was not one of them. No, they were here to see the big guys; the guys hoping to turn pro, the ones who managed to get blood or an unconscious body on the ring mat. My fight would be the one when everyone made a mad rush outside for a cigarette, in fact I would be lucky if that was what happened. Usually, there wasn't even much of a crowd during my fights. That was the problem with being in a lighter weight class. Fight card line ups started with the lightest and ended with the heaviest. So of course, that meant my fights were usually fairly early.

The large crowd already milling about the ring was unusual so early in the evening. "Emmett, are there sponsors here tonight that I don't know about?" I asked as we worked our way around a cluster of men and headed toward the sectioned off fighters area.

"What? No, not that Jimmy told me," Emmett replied as he quickly searched through the immediate area to see if he could spot any familiar faces.

"I wonder why it's already this full and the first match isn't even set to start for another 30 minutes?" I asked what we are both wondering.

"Not sure, you go get ready and I'll see if I can find Jimmy, he'll know." I watched as Emmett's large and bulky frame had no problem moving though the crowd. Continuing my way to the dressing area, I looked around trying to spot my opponent for the night's match. It didn't take me very long to search out Lauren Mallory or as she preferred to call herself "The Wall". How someone could be considered a wall when your weight class was Featherweight was beyond me. But, I'd reserve judgement for after our match. Lauren noticed me and made brief eye contact before returning her attention back to lacing up her boots.

Finding an unoccupied bench, I pulled out my ipod and began my pre-match routine. I always got dressed in the same order: shorts, sports bra, tank top, socks, boots; all the same color, tonight was black. It was while pulling my long hair into a low ponytail that Emmett returned. He must have been waiting for me to get through my routine because as soon as my hair was pulled back, he pulled one of my ear buds out.

"Hey, I'm in the zone, you don't interrupt me while I'm in the zone!"

Emmett rolled his eyes at my attempt to admonish him. "I found Jimmy, he's out schmoozing with some guy looking for a new coach. Apparently this guy is a pro and has sponsors but had a falling out with his last coach. Jimmy invited him tonight to show off his fighters in an attempt to sway his decision to hire him. "

"Really, why would he want Jimmy?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Well, Jimmy was a great fighter. Maybe this guy is looking for someone who has done well in his past?"

I could tell Emmett was grasping at straws because we both knew Jimmy's professional career didn't end because he chose to retire. James "Jimmy" Kellington was suspended from professional boxing after plaster was found in his hand wraps. He had fought the decision made by the Boxing Commission on the basis that he didn't do his hand wraps but they still found him guilty and he was suspended for a year. After that year was over, Jimmy couldn't find anyone willing to coach him so he moved on and opened his own gym and eventually started coaching again.

"Who is this guy? I mean, if he has sponsors, surely he could get any coach he wants, right?"

"He goes by The Major. That's all I know. Jimmy didn't even introduce us when I let him know we were here." Hearing this pissed me off. I was usually a fairly calm individual, which was quite the anomaly for a boxer.

"'The Major', was he in the army? Where does that leave us? Who's gonna be in my corner if Jimmy is busy wining and dining this Major?" I was quickly getting wound up and started pacing the small area in front of my bench, the other women in the dressing area beginning to stare.

"Calm down there killer. Don't worry about Jimmy, I'll be in your corner like always and Carlisle is here too." Emmett's tone was soothing and I willed myself to appear calm.

"Okay so I have a Cutman and an Assistant Coach turned Coach, fine. We can deal. But know that I'm pissed. If this Major guy decides to go with Jimmy, both of us will be screwed for a coach. It's hard enough to be a girl in boxing let alone become second best to some guy who is already pro and already has sponsors. Neither of us have that, hell, you aren't even fighting tonight!" My voice was rapidly rising in volume and people were back to watching my little meltdown with the fascination that rivalled watching an accident in slow motion.

From the corner of my eye I noticed Lauren not even bothering to hold back a smirk. She thought that because my focus had been broken I'd be an easy win. She was delusional if she actually thought I'd let this problem affect me in the ring. _Wait, what if I did let it affect me in the ring? _Emmett said Jimmy was using his fighters as a way to show off his coaching abilities.

"I refuse to be a pawn in Jimmy's courtship with this guy, Emmett."

"Bella, what are you planning? I know that look on your face, nothing good ever comes from that look." He ran a meaty hand through his dark curly hair, clearly not happy with the situation but unsure what to do about it. "Look, lets just finish getting you ready alright? Things have already started out there and we still need to get the rest of your gear on and you still need to do your warm up. We'll worry about Jimmy later, okay?"

I knew that if I let Emmett in on my plan, he'd be pissed at me and I couldn't lose two coaches in the same night. Playing off his concerns, I nodded my head and passed him my handwraps.

"Sure, Em. We'll take care of this later. Help me wrap my hands? I never get them tight enough." His smile was warm but I could still see the concern in his eyes. I tried to keep my focus on the him as he wrapped my hands and checked the laces on my boots. He finally looked convinced I wasn't planning anything as he tied up my gloves.

"All set, go stretch out and get your legs warmed up, I think we still have one more match before yours. I'm going to go let Carlisle know we'll be without Jimmy tonight."

I nodded my head to him as he put my earbuds back into my ears and turned my ipod back on for me. Music had always been an important part of my routine. Even when just working out, I listened to music. It made me feel powerful and I used that to my advantage. Tonight would be no different, in fact it seemed to fuel my anger even more. It didn't help my cause that AFI was currently playing. The heavy bass, strong drum beats and angry lyrics fed my desire to get retribution for Jimmy's apparent desertion of both Emmett and I.

A plan was slowly forming in my mind and I smiled at the destruction it would cause. I didn't like throwing fights. I needed to keep reminding myself that Emmett and I hade worked too hard for some guy to just waltz right in and take our place in Jimmy's line up of top fighters. I could not afford to win this match no matter how badly I wanted to beat on Lauren for the smugness still radiating off her. I'd have to save that for the rematch I would demand when the match was over. The only thing comforting me was the fact that tonight's match didn't count toward my standings, I couldn't afford to have a loss on my record when the qualification for the women's Olympic team was so tight.

Emmett and Carlisle made their way over to me as I finished my warm up. I'd broken a slight sweat and I was pleased that my match had been called. I paid no attention to any of the crowd of men that jeered and whistled at us as we walked up to the ring. Lauren and I had both entered the ring and I began a light bounce from one foot to the other, keeping my legs warm and moving. Emmett was talking to me, but I didn't hear him, my focus was studying The Wall and her movements.

The usual announcements of each fighter's name and record must have been made because I heard the ding of the bell and The Wall had started stalking toward me. I could tell she was not quick on her feet which would normally be an advantage for me, tonight it would be a disadvantage. I'd need to go shot for shot with her and would watch to see if she developed a pattern to her punches.

The first three minute round was discouraging. This girl could not hit me to save her soul. I easily dodged her jabs and blocked her cross punches. I returned each of her throws with one of my own landing it and gaining a point each time. We continued to move around the ring. I found myself circling Lauren, yet another aspect of her fight strategy that would have worked to my advantage had I not decided to let her win. _Why was she making this harder on me? _

She landed a heavy handed body shot to my left ribcage and I backed off a bit, continuing my circling as I caught my breath. I heard Emmett yelling for me to return the hit and attacked with a hard uppercut, snapping her head upwards. Her face was no longer guarded by her hand and my instincts were telling me to go in for the knock out but I followed up instead with a quick body shot just as the bell was ringing.

"What was that last hit? You could have had her just now!" Emmett barked at me from my left as Carlisle squeezed water into my mouth. I spat it out and ignored the question.

"How's your side?" Carlisle asked, concerned.

"Fine, she just knocked out my breath a bit is all." I said as I turned my head toward him so he could check my face for the blood we both knew wouldn't be there. Lauren had yet to land a shot to my head.

The bell rang for the second round and I was anticipating much of the same dance as the last round. The Wall surprised me when she advanced a little quicker and with a bit more aggression. I was pleased, she was actually going to put in an effort to win. After a couple more hit for hit circles around the ring, I could tell she was getting tired. My blood boiling in anger; I landed a quick jab cross combo knocking her back against the ropes. The ref held me back for a moment to see if Lauren would stand without the aid of the ropes.

She appeared slightly dazed but the ref let her continue, I was relieved. I backed off a bit and let her come to me. Emmett was yelling for me to finish her off but I ignored him. My plan had to work, I let her get in a jab to the head and a body shot before I returned one to her body. She was breathing heavy. But, I had finally noticed her pattern of attack, two body shots, or attempts, and then a head shot. We finished the second round with another landed body shot in The Wall's favour and I smiled as I returned to my corner.

"Bella, what is your problem? Why do you seem to be just dancing around and slipping through her reach?" Emmett knew me too well. He could see that I was hardly putting in an effort for the last two rounds. "If you keep up at this pace you'll win by decision, you have enough points to just coast through this round, do you want that?"

"No, I don't want that Emmett," _I want to lose_, I finished to myself. Again, Carlisle was pouring water into my mouth and this time I swallowed it instead of spiting it out. I needed the moisture in my mouth to make Lauren's knock out punch look real when it sprayed out of my mouth from the blow.

The bell for the final round dings somewhere behind me. Lauren and I were both up and as predictable as ever, she stalked toward me with a little bit more gusto. I let her land her first body shot and returned one of my own. She swung for a jab but we were too far apart and missed. I closed in the distance between us and hit her in the ribs again. That angered her, she finally realized I'd been holding back on her. I gave her back a smirk and watched as she hit me with another body shot and saw her next head shot would be an uppercut. I let my guard hand down a little to give her room to hit my jaw just right.

As soon as my left arm lowered I heard Emmett call out, "Bella, get your guard hand up!" Before he had finished yelling, Lauren connected her uppercut and I learned why she was called The Wall. My head snapped back and she must have landed another head shot because the darkness swallowed me.

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Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

~cusher


	2. Concequences of Inaction

Churros and thanks to my Beta TellMeTheTruth. She tells me when to kill the "ands".

Again, I don't own Twilight. I do own 4 books with back covers that have only been read once each.

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Chapter 2: Consequences of Inaction

"If you control it, you can make good use of it. But if you lose control, it will kill you." ~ Jose Torres

My nose was burning. Why was it burning when Lauren had hit me in the jaw? My eyes were still closed and I heard a multitude of voices arguing with each other above me. The burning continued and felt as though someone had lit a match in each of my nostrils. I heard the gruff voice of Jimmy above me calling my name asking me to open my eyes but I couldn't be bothered enough to do it for him. I let out a weak groan. The voices grew louder; this time I heard Emmett a little more clearly than Jimmy.

"Cricket, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes for me, please." I've reduced a grown man to pet names and begging. He sounded desperate for any sign I could possibly give him. I suddenly realized once I opened my eyes, one look in them and Emmett would know that I'd thrown the match. I never could hide anything from him, he knew me too well and I could not take the look of disappointment I knew he would give me.

I tried to hold onto the sanctity the blackness previously offered. It became increasingly difficult as the burning in my nose raged on. My body was heavy and felt weighted down. My gloves must have been removed because someone was holding my hand, the death grip was anything but gentle. I wanted to free my hand of the vice and pull out those matches I was convinced had made a home in my nose. I allowed another groan, growing in volume and the voices above me quieted down a little waiting for my next sign. I squeezed the hand attached to mine and felt a squeeze back.

My eyelids were heavy as I struggled to open them, but once I committed, the burning in my nose lessened though it did not completely vanish. Blinking a few times at the sudden brightness I saw Carlisle pull his hand away from my face. He must have been the fire starter, it clicked in my brain; smelling salts.

"How long was I out for?" my voice was quite and my throat dry making it sound rough.

"Only a couple of minutes, we used the smelling salts after you didn't get up right away." Carlisle informed me from my left. I slowly looked around, Jimmy was next to Carlisle with a concerned look on his hard face and I worried for a second that he might call me out on my obvious attempt at sabotage. He didn't say anything to me so I allowed my eyes to continue their journey. The ref was next to Jimmy, he too didn't say anything, he looked unconcerned and walked away once he saw I was awake. Emmett was last, he hadn't released my hand, his eyes were pained and I finally understood what a colossal mistake I'd made.

"I'm sorry." I knew that I would have a lot of explaining to do and would undoubtedly receive a tongue lashing from Emmett just as soon as he knew I was alright.

"Sorry? That's not usually what a fighter says after waking up from a knock out punch. Let's not worry about that, we need to get you up and checked for a concussion. Emmett and I are going to help you up now, alright Bella?" Carlisle said taking charge of the situation. If possible, I felt even more guilty. Someone needed to give him a medal for the compassion and concern he gave away at no charge. He was still waiting for my response and all I could do is nod my head at him.

My upper body rose without the aid of my own strength. Feeling only slightly dizzy after being prone I pulled my knees up to show I was ready to stand. Once on my own two feet I heard polite clapping. _Shit, how did I forget that we were being watched? _I'd allowed myself to become a side show, for the second time tonight, how awesome. All eyes in the arena were on me as I continued to be supported by Carlisle and Emmett over to my corner.

Before I could seek refuge in the dressing area, the winner of our match needed to be announced. At this point, it was merely a formality, we all knew I was the loser. I looked up to see Lauren, pride and satisfaction heavily wafting off her person. She'd forgotten all about how I dominated the match and her little revelation right before I let her best me. I could not hold back my annoyance. I broke free of Emmett and Carlisle's hold and walked over to her on unsteady feet.

"I want a rematch!" I called out to her as strong hands grabbed a hold of me and stopped any further movement. Emmett was telling me to calm down as Lauren returned my challenge.

"You want me to beat your ass again? I look forward to it!" Her bravado was cut short as the announcer's voice filledhe arena over the crackling PA system.

I didn't bother to listen as they said her name. Nor did I watch as they lifted her arm over her head for the crowd to see. My hand was released by the ref and I desperately wanted to remove myself from the situation.

Avoiding any eye contact I exited the ring and all but ran to the fighter's dressing area. My brain, no longer fuelled by rage had decided to start producing coherent thoughts and suddenly I begin regretting my actions.

Carlisle's usual concern for one of his fighters was obvious. Jimmy's disbelief was easily seen by any who looked at him. However, it was Emmett's disappointment that was the most difficult for me to look at. I knew that I've hurt him by doing this. I can tell he is holding back his interrogation until we are alone, where we both know I will tell him whatever he wanted to know.

The dressing room was empty save for a few other women in various states of dress. Some were putting on their equipment in preparation for their upcoming matches. Others were quietly packing up their things but I could tell they were doing so slowly, I surmised they expect another meltdown and wanted to be here when it happened. Approaching my bench from earlier, I began to remove my hand wraps and hastily shoved them into my bag, not bothering to fold them up. I wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

Jimmy, Carlisle and Emmett followed me into the dressing area and were quietly discussing something. Carlisle must had pulled the short straw because he was the one to approach me.

"Bella I just need to do a quick check on your neurovitals before you go," his voice was calm and soothing. Nodding my head I gave him my full attention. He checked my eyes with a light. "How is your head? Are you experiencing any dizziness or nausea?"

"I have a small headache but otherwise, I feel fine," I responded with honesty. He still looked concerned but nodded his head to Jimmy in reassurance.

"I'm certain you've only sustained a minor concussion. You can take Tylenol for the headache and get lots of sleep. Emmett you'll need to stay the night with Bella to wake her up for the next six hours to make sure she hasn't suffered anything more serious. Otherwise, I don't want you doing any training for a week to give your body the time it needs to recover from the concussion and I want you to stop by my office on Monday for another quick check, alright?" Carlisle turned to leave.

"A week? Carlisle, I can't not train for a week!" I looked back and forth between the three men standing in front of me my eyes pleading for the alternative decision that I knew wouldn't come.

"Sorry Swan, but the rules are the same for every one of my boxers. Now, would you like to talk about tonight's fight here or would you prefer to wait until tomorrow and come see me at the gym?" These were the first words Jimmy had spoken to me all night, the disappointment written on his face.

There was no way I wanted to discuss this train wreck of bad decisions with him anytime soon. However, before I could even voice my plan to see him the next day there was knock at the doorway and someone cleared their throat. I chanced a glance in the direction of the intruder with perfect timing. I didn't know him but the recognition on Emmett's face and the slimy smooth smile Jimmy was wearing told me exactly what I didn't want to know. The Major. Of course he would show up right now to witness my humiliation. Let this be the cherry topping to my night. We made eye contact for a brief second as he stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Looks like we'll have to have this discussion later, come see me tomorrow, yeah?" Jimmy didn't even wait for my response as he swiftly left the room, I was grateful for the interruption of what would probably be a very long lecture on my failure tonight. Yes, that could definitely wait until tomorrow.

The Major stepped aside as Jimmy walked out of the dressing area and Carlisle followed behind. Before he following, he looked back at Emmett and I with what I only assumed to be pity. I hoped I managed make enough of an ass of myself to be an influence in his decision and tell Jimmy he no longer wished to train under him. It was the only thing that would make the disappointment in Emmett's eyes worth while.

"I'll let you finish getting dressed," Emmett's voice was quite and sad sounding. I didn't bother with a reply as I watched him leave in the same direction the others had gone only minutes ago.

Looking around, the room was now empty, all the other ladies must had left at one point or another. I changed out of my silk shorts and put on the jeans I arrived here in and quickly pulled my hoodie over my tank top and sports bra and packed up the rest of my equipment. My headache was starting to get worse and all I wanted to do is go home, shower and seek refuge under my blankets.

With my bag slung over one shoulder I approached Emmett. He was leaning against the wall, hands in his jacket pockets and one foot propped up on the wall.

"Hey, I'm ready to go whenever you are," I said, a few feet away from him.

"You don't want to stay and watch the rest of our team or any of the other fights in your weight class?"

"No, I'd really just like to go home and go to bed. My head is starting to hurt a bit more now that the adrenaline isn't pumping, if you don't mind. Unless you want to stay, I can just grab a cab home," I said shrugging my shoulders.

"Did you even listen to what Carlisle said in there?" His tone was tense as he pointed his thumb back in the direction of the dressing rooms. "I can't just abandon you and assume you'll be able to wake yourself up every hour," the double meaning of his words not lost on me. "If you want to leave, then let's go."

Emmett didn't wait for me as he started walking towards the door. Sighing, I followed behind him trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. I was lucky enough that there was another fight going on and most everyone was paying attention to that.

A loud whoop grabbed my attention. I regret the instant reflex as I looked up and spotted Lauren doing some sort of victory celebration with a herd of guys surrounding her. She smirked at me as we made eye contact.

I didn't even have the energy to be angry at her anymore, it was my decision after all to throw the fight. I should have been happy, I should have been a graceful loser, I should not have been feeling like I just let down my biggest supporter and best friend. However, I was not happy, I was a sore loser and I did let down my best friend, especially when he was there for me when I needed him.

The ride to my place was quiet. I sneaked glances in Emmett's direction, his face lacking that carefree look and easy grin I was so used to seeing. I hated that I had put him in this situation.

"Em…I'm really sorry I let you down tonight," my words sounded lame and pathetic even to me.

"Really, Bella? I don't even know what to say about that sorry excuse for a fight I witnessed." He wasn't holding back and I didn't argue because I knew I deserved every word he said. "You are better fighter than that. I just don't understand why? I mean, as it out of jealousy?"

"No, not jealousy. I was angry that Jimmy just left us on our own when someone bigger and better came along. I mean, I've been with Jimmy since I started boxing and you have been with him even longer than that. When you told me that he wasn't even going to be coaching me tonight, I was pissed. Isn't that what a coach is supposed to do?" I chanced a look at him, his eyes were on the road and his grip was tight on the steering wheel. "I just thought that if this new guy was here to see Jimmy's fighters and I didn't do well, it would reflect on him and he wouldn't want to join anymore."

"So where would that leave me, Bella? I was the one coaching you tonight, not Jimmy. If anything, your poor decision made me look like the bad coach." I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I know it was a bad move on my part. I honestly didn't think about how much this would affect you. But if it means we won't be sidelined by some new guy then I'm not sorry about that. I am sorry I let you down though. If I had told you my plan what would you have done?"

"You know I would have tried to knock some sense into that stubborn head of yours," he said finally looking at me, his usual warm brown eyes were hard.

"Exactly my point Emmett. This way, Jimmy can't be pissed at you for knowing. It will all be on me when The Major decides to go with someone else," he sighed and pulled the car into the second reserved parking spot assigned to my townhouse beside my car.

We walked up the stairs and I unlocked the door and let us in. Emmett walked through the living room and into the kitchen as I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom. I turned on the bedside lamp as I passed by and walked into the ensuite. I used the little light afforded by the lamp, ignoring the harsh bright lights of the bathroom and turned on the shower.

My head was still pounding as I stripped down and stepped into the now hot and steamy water. I stoodd in the stream and let the warmth soothe my tired muscles, it did nothing for the beating my emotions had taken.

After I had washed up and towelled dry, I pulled on my favourite sleepwear, a t-shirt that once belonged to Emmett. It was familiar and soft and felt like a hug. I opened my bedroom door up so that Emmett didn't have to worry about it when he had to wake me up through the night. Just as I walked back to crawl into bed he was climbing up the stairs and entered my room holding a glass of water. He handed it to me and dropped two Tylenol into my other hand.

"Thanks," I said as I swallowed the medicine with a couple of sits of water. His consideration of my injury even though he was still upset at me made me feel even worse.

"Sure thing, Bells. Let's get some sleep so I can wake you up in an hour."

"Of course, I'll leave my door open for you."

"Alright, I'm gonna be in the spare room, that lumpy mattress is better than the lumpy couch downstairs," he joked breaking the tension.

"Night, Em. I love you. I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean for this to upset you, right?" I said as I hugged him.

"I know you are Cricket, love ya too," he smiled weakly, returning the hug. The mention of his nickname for me letting me know he had already forgiven me.

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I've got a little preview to Chapter 3 for anyone who reviews!

Thanks for reading!

~cusher


	3. A Major Letdown

I still do not own Twilight. I am however, the proud owner of a sore throat.

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Chapter 3: A Major Letdown

"A fighter can condition his body to go hard certain rounds, then to coast certain rounds." ~ Muhammad Ali

The night's sleep had been as restful as what I imagined a new mother's to be. However instead of a screaming baby, I was awoken by a gruff voice and a shake to my shoulder, every hour. This morning, I envied that new mother; she at least got 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ah well, tonight would be much better, Emmett would be at his own house. As grateful as I am for him staying to check on me every fucking hour, he snores. Loud. Some might even compare the volume to that of an army of fighter jets or maybe it's just me. Lucky bastard falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. I on the other hand, have a hard time getting my brain to shut off, last night was no exception. It felt like just as soon as I managed to fall asleep Emmett would be there to wake me up. The boxing karma gods must have had a good laugh at my expense last night.

I will never intentionally get a concussion again.

On top of my having to be checked on all night, I will be held back from training for the week. I really should have thought that plan through a little better. I should have made a list of pros and cons; weighed them back and forth, drew out pie charts or something like that. Then I might have actually made an informed, well-thought out decision. I better be reaping the rewards of these sacrifices.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I rolled out of bed. It was only 8:00am, I had slept in. Emmett was still breaking sound barriers in the spare bedroom down the hall. After changing into a pair of jogging shorts and a tank top, I brushed my teeth, washed my face and pulled my unruly hair into a high ponytail. With my runners and a zip hoodie in hand I went downstairs to leave a note for Emmett. I could count on him to be sleeping for a little while longer. I quickly jotted down my thanks for his taking care of me last night and told him I would call him later after I spoke with Jimmy. I stuck the paper on the fridge with a large magnet knowing he would help himself to breakfast before he left and wouldn't miss it under the bright smiling face of Mickey Mouse. Emmett hated Mickey Mouse, he said it was un-natural for a male character to have such a high voice and it freaked him out a little bit.

I quietly closed the front door and tucked the key into my pocket after locking it. Turning my ipod on I began stretching my legs out. The morning was cool with the begining of fall and a dampness still hung in the air. The sun was beginning it's journey through the sky and I was looking forward to letting my body work out the stiffness left in my muscles after last night's fight.

I barely noticed my feet hitting the ground and quickly leaving it only to land back down again as I looked around the street. It was still early enough that most people hadn't left for church or whatever else people do on a Sunday morning. That's what I liked about being a morning person, if you got up early enough the streets are yours to run free on. If I waited until early evening to go for my run I would be dodging all the people out walking their dogs or stand a chance to be flagged down by one of my neighbours for a chat. No thanks. I much preferred the early morning air and the stillness that comes with it, not to mention all the things a person could see that only occurred at this time of day. A wild bunny was hopping around munching on some lady's petunias and the way the moisture on the blades of grass from the morning dew sparkled like diamonds as the sun got higher in the sky.

I turned onto the street of Kellington's Boxing Club less than an hour later. My legs were warm despite the still chilly temperature and my breath left little clouds around my head as I slowed to a walk. Jimmy's old rusty Camaro was parked on the street in front of the gym. Next to it was a red and black Harley Davidson motorbike, what kind of Harley I couldn't even tell you. It was beautiful and expensive, I did know that much. I wanted to run my fingers along the sleek chrome handlebars but resisted the temptation. I idly wondered if the owner was as nice to look at as the bike.

Trying my hand at being stealthy, I peeked through the window to see what waited for me inside, it looked the same as any other day. Kellington's Boxing Club wouldn't be considered a normal gym, you didn't have to sign in at a front desk and the machines didn't line up facing the window for the users to be on display like some places. When you walked though the front door, there was a small area rug to wipe your feet on which was quite handy during the average 158 rainy days Seattle managed throughout the year.

The wide open space of the gym was separated into essentially two sections. To your left was a wall of machines and weights and along the back wall was where the speed bags and heavy bags hung. The two walls dedicated to actual equipment did follow the cardinal gym rule, they had mirrors so that you could watch yourself or those around you if that was your thing.

The other area was home to the ring, it took up the center portion of the large room with mats surrounding it to lessen the blow should you get tossed out while sparring. I've taken that trip a few times, the mats are only there for the appearance of cushion, they don't actually offer any sort of protection, just ask my ass.

To the right was a row of chairs pushed up against the window. Also along the right wall were three doors; a group of two and one off in the corner. The group of two doors each led to a change room equip with showers and lockers. The lone door in the corner opened to Jimmy's office. He never closed the door unless he was in a meeting, choosing to spend most of his time training with his boxers rather than telling them what to do from behind a desk. It was one of the things I admired the most about Jimmy. Not only could he tell you what you were doing wrong, he could show you.

Steeling my nerves, I pulled open the door and walked in. I took a quick peak in Jimmy's office, the lights were on but he wasn't there. Turning around I nearly ran right into Victoria (who preferred to be called Vicky and would remind you any time you forgot), Jimmy's live in girlfriend. Vicky had long wavy red hair. I'm pretty sure her goal was for it to look like Tawny Kitaen's in that Whitesnake video. I'm even willing to go so far as to say she brought in a picture to her hairdresser and then practiced her hairography on the hood of Jimmy's rust boat Camaro. Being that it was still early in the morning, her hair was particularly poufy from all the teasing. You could still smell the hair spray if you got close enough, I didn't.

"Oh hey, Isabella. Jimmy told me about last night's fight. Sorry I wasn't there to watch," Vicky said smiling at me while patting my arm in mock sympathy, I'm sure. Did I mention how she only calls me Isabella when she knows I prefer Bella? Ironic, right?

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. Jimmy and I didn't get a chance to talk last night. Where is he at?" I asked while trying to look around her lion's mane of hair.

"He's showing some new guy around. I think he's just assigning him a locker in the change room and then they'll be out." Nodding my head, I moved to sit in one of the plastic chairs to wait. Vicky and her hair continued into Jimmy's office.

Not one to like having idle hands, I reached into my pocket, pulling out my ipod and began searching though my various play lists trying to decide what I would listen to on my run back home. It would all depend on how my talk with Jimmy went. If it was a good talk, and by good I mean The Major decided to go away, I would listen to my 90's Pop Playlist. If it was a bad talk, which would definitely include anything else besides The Major not going away, I would listen to the angry complaints of Anti-Flag.

Just as I decided, the door to the men's change rooms opened and Jimmy walked out alone, the other guy must be staying to do some training or something. He made eye contact with me and quickly made his way over.

"Good morning, Swan. How's the head?"

"It's good, the headache is pretty well gone. Emmett stayed last night to check on me." I tried to reassure him.

"That's great to hear. I'm sure Carlisle will be pleased to hear that as well when you see him at his office tomorrow," he said as he tilted his head in the direction of his office. It would seem he wanted to get straight to our talk.

Jimmy walked around his desk as I followed him into the office. Vicky wisely left and shut the door on her way out. I've decided not to say anything unless Jimmy directly asks me a question.

"So, last night," he began. "Definitely wasn't your best match. Hell, I'd venture to say it was your worst yet, Swan. Care to explain what happened out there?" He looked at me, I was unsure if this was a rhetorical question or not. Did he want me to tell him I threw the match or was he just torturing me because he knew what really happened?

"From what I saw last night, you were sloppy. You had trouble connecting your punches. When you did connect well, they were body shots. The only thing that kept you alive was your feet, you're lucky they move as fast as they do." Jimmy had a look of concern on his face that made a small crease form between his eyes. I must be a better actress than I originally thought because he is not giving me any indication that he knows the truth.

"Yeah, I guess I was just having an off night," I replied, it's not the truth but it's not exactly a lie either. "I'm sorry I messed up."

"We all have those matches when we are lined up against someone bigger and better. The only thing we can do is learn from it." Did he actually just say Lauren was better than me?

"No Jimmy, that isn't it, I know I can beat Lauren. She just got the best of me last night." I argued.

"Hmmm. I can't argue with you there, I know you are better than that. Maybe we just need to change your training. Get you sparring with other boxers besides Emmett. Yes, I think maybe you've become too comfortable with Emmett and it's time to try a different paring." Jimmy scratched at what looked like a couple of days worth of stubble as he considered his suggestion like it was up for debate.

"What? I like sparring with Emmett, he pushes me and doesn't baby me like the other guys here, you can't make me change to one of those other guys who will treat me like glass. Please," my plea was met on deaf ears, Jimmy was already shaking his head no.

"I'm not suggesting a permanent change here Bella. I just think you need to switch things up for a bit. In fact, once Carlisle clears you, I want you to pair up with the new guy who just joined the club for one of the weekly training sessions, alright?" This time I can tell Jimmy's question was rhetorical and I nodded my head in defeated acquiescence.

"Actually, he should still be here so I want to introduce you to him. Come on." Thinking I've gotten off easy with this talk, I followed Jimmy out of his office to see a tall male figure standing, talking with Vicky. Rather, it appeared he was listening to her talk, by the sounds of things, it looked like he made the mistake of calling her Victoria, poor shmuck. I took a quick assessment of him before he turned around. His dirty blond hair was a mess of waves and curls that rested just above his shoulders; shoulders that were covered by a leather jacket. Continuing down, he was wearing dark wash blue jeans and a pair of worn-in black Doc Marten boots. I also noticed he was holding a black bike helmet. He must be the owner of the Harley outside.

"Jasper, I want you to meet someone," Jimmy called out before we reached the pair. "This is Bella, you saw her fight last night. Bella, this is Jasper Whitlock, he just joined the club." At the sound of Jimmy's voice, the Harley owner turned around. As soon as I recognized his face, Jimmy's words registered in my head …_you saw her fight last night_…Shit, he's The Major. Looks like all the self-induced suffering I've caused will be for naught. Fuck my life.

His steel grey eyes are calculating and assessing me, much like I did to him only moments before. I felt like I was on display under his intense gaze, I tried not to twitch or fidget. There was no way I wanted to let this guy see me vulnerable like he did last night when he interrupted us in the dressing area after my match.

He didn't bother with things like salutations or any other normal social graces like a hand shake. He simply raised his one eyebrow at me, noding his head in a way of dismissal and looked back at Jimmy, waiting for something; I'm not sure what though.

Jimmy looked down at me and jabbed his damn elbow into my ribs. I assumed he was expecting me to be congenial to this new guy. I looked back at Jimmy with an eye roll; he elbowed me once more for good measure.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm sure," I said looking in his direction, carefully avoiding eye contact, shoving my hands deep into the pockets of my sweater. _I wonder what Jimmy thinks of that for being pleasant?_

"I'll bet," he replied back. I was not really sure what he meant by that but choose to ignore him and looked back at Jimmy waiting for him to make this awkwardness go away.

"Isabella, isn't that your car? I didn't see you drive up when you got here," Vicky broke the silence pointing toward the street through the giant glass window of the gym. We all turned our heads and sure enough, there was my un-necessarily large Ford Expedition, pulling up behind Jimmy's car. I couldn't see who was inside because of the tinted windows and the sun was shining on the windshield causing a glaring reflection back at us.

"What the hell?" I said in disbelief as I began to make my way toward the front door. I stopped in my tracks when I saw Emmett climb out of the SUV and made his way toward the front door of the gym.

"Wait a second," Jimmy was looking back and forth between my SUV and Vicky. Finally turning his hard stare on me. "If you didn't drive your car this morning, how did you get here then? I know you didn't run or walk here when Carlisle told you NOT to do any training, right Swan?" I could feel the tell-tale blush creeping it's way up my neck and ears. Shit, I am so fucked.

"Calm down Jimmy-man, I dropped Cricket off while I went to return a movie," Emmett saved my ass as he clamped a heavy hand on Jimmy's shoulder. He turned his attention toward Jasper quickly bringing the attention to himself. "Hey man, I'm Emmett McCarthy." Emmett did that universal guy head nod thing while removing his hand from Jimmy, sticking it out in front of Jasper.

"Jasper Whitlock," he saids while firmly shaking Emmett's hand. Jimmy still looked suspicious of me but let it go.

"Right, so now that you've all been introduced, I've got some phone calls to make," Jimmy said as he headed back to his office; Vicky was hot on his heels, her hair billowing behind her as she all but ran to catch up.

We didn't say anything to each other and were forming a strange obtuse triangle. Emmett and I stood closely together facing Jasper. The silence was awkward. I didn't feel much like doing anything about it and began to zip up my sweater.

"Ready to go?" Emmett broke the silence looking down at me with his easy smile.

"Yeah, let's get out of here since I've essentially been banished for the week." Emmett nodded and gave my pony tail a little tug while putting his arm over my shoulders and ushering me in the direction of the door.

"See ya around, man," Emmett said over my head to Jasper. I didn't hear a reply but heard footsteps following us.

The sun wais bright and I had have to use my hand to shield my eyes as we stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Keys, Emmett," I demanded while holding out my hand expectantly. He dangled them over my head but pressed the unlock button.

"No way, I'm driving. You owe me breakfast after all the hero overtime I've been doing for you."

I sighed and made my way over to the passenger's side and got in. Emmett was still standing on the sidewalk. He'd been sidetracked and was now ogling the Harley I had admired earlier, before I knew who it belonged to. Jasper was putting on his helmet. It wasn't one of those full head ones; I was pretty sure it wasn't even a legal helmet. It barely reached his ears, it actually kind of reminded me of one of those old war helmets except it was black instead of green. He must take his fighting name seriously. Leave it to a guy dubbed The Major to wear a military inspired helmet.

Emmett was still talking and making excited gestures towards the bike. Jasper looked at him and chuckled replying back to the bike. It annoyed me. The guy only managed to say two words in front of me both of the times he spoke while in the gym but had no problem chatting it up with Emmett. Fuck that shit. I reached over and honked the horn at Emmett, raising my eyebrows at him when he looked back at me. The two Chatty Cathy's finished their conversation and did that stupid fist pump thing.

I watched Jasper get on his bike and start it up while Emmett made his way over to the car and climbed in.

"You sure are impatient for someone who should be extra nice to me, you know."

"Whatever, Em." I kept looking forward and listened to the purr of the Harley trying not to be obvious that I was still watching Jasper in his illegal helmet on his beautiful bike.

"Seriously, I was just admiring his bike. Did you see it? I know you saw it, Jasper said he was here before you got here."

"Yeah, I saw it. I might have even admired it for a small minute or three. But now I've changed my opinion, knowing who owns it."

"Jesus Bella, you already hate the guy and you don't even know him!" Emmett sighed at me.

"What and suddenly from a two minute conversation, you are his BFF or something?" I looked over at him indignantly. We both looked toward Jasper as he reved the motor and took off down the road.

"No, I'm just saying he seems cool. We're obviously going to be spending a lot of time with him now that he has joined the club. Maybe you should just get to know him before you pass judgement." Emmett started the car and backed it up before pulling onto the road.

"How can I do that when he only said two words to me and looked at me like I wasn't worth the time it took to acknowledge me."

"All I'm saying is give the guy a chance. You never know, he may take your job as my new _BFF_," Emmett joked using my own words against me.

"We'll see about that. Didn't you say something about breakfast?" I asked in an attempt to change the topic and avoid making any commitment about niceties to Jasper.

"Yeah, you're buying me breakfast. It's the least you could do after I saved your ass from Jimmy's wrath. What were you thinking jogging down here? You really are a glutton for punishment." He smiled at his own joke and pressed the accelerator as the light switched to green.

"It wasn't a long run, Em. I wanted to stretch my muscles and work the stiffness out. Breakfast sounds really good, but if you expect me to pay, we'll need to go back to my place so I can get my purse."

"Already taken care of," he smiled at me. A few minutes later he pulled up front of the Blue Star Café. He reached into the back seat and pulled out my purse, passing it to me.

"You planned this." I smiled while shaking my head at him.

"You know it, baby. Now hurry up, I'm hungry for some steak and eggs." he said to me as he closed the door of the car and made his way toward the restaurant.

After I ate and watched Emmett wolf down an obscene amount of food we drove back home. Once there, he gave me back my keys and hopped into his Jeep Rubicon to drive it across the parking lot, parking it in front of his townhouse. I watched as he climbed up his stairs and smiled at him as he turned back toward me and waved goodbye.

We were both tired after the long interrupted night's sleep and I had promised Emmett I would take it easy for the rest of the day. At least until I saw Carlisle the next morning where I could hopefully convince him to allow me to do light training. If he said no I would have to find someone to teach my yoga classes at the Y for the rest of the week.

I spent the rest of the day doing some light cleaning and the few loads of laundry that had piled up from the week. After I was satisfied with the few things I got done, I crawled into bed to watch some TV. There was a John Hughes Movie Marathon on. Sixteen Candles was just finishing with Samantha and Jake kissing over the birthday cake. As soon as the closing credits were done, The Breakfast Club started, there wasn't even a commercial in between.

I loved this movie, even if it came out the same year I was born, it didn't matter to me; the message was still applicable. And who didn't love Judd Nelson? John Bender may seem hard and criminal but he still managed to get Claire to like him in the end. The only thing that would have made his character more bad ass would have been a motorbike. Instead of walking through the football field he could have rode through. That would have been great; brown hair whipping behind him in the wind. _Who am I kidding, that would have been stupid._ What's more stupid is that in my mind, John Bender's hair isn't brown, it's dirty blond and being held down by a military helmet. And just because my imagination isn't deranged enough, John's long coat became black leather. _What was wrong with me_? I managed to ruin my favourite bad boy image by replacing Judd with Jasper. _Who does that?_

_

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Send your thanks to TellMeTheTruth, she betaed this while on vacation! How lucky am I to have her, right?

Tell me, which bad boy would you have Jasper take over for?

~cusher


	4. An Apple A Day

Twilight is still not mine.

Special thanks to my lovely beta TellMeTheTruth. She killed a lot of commas reading through this chapter and didn't complain once!

Please be sure to read the A/N at the bottom for some exciting news!

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Chapter 4: An Apple a Day

"There are a lot of things and in order to be at the top and maintain your focus you have to have something that motivates you. For me, it was what I perceived as a lack of respect from the boxing world as well as the media, which made me want to work so hard and be great." ~ Marvin Hagler

I woke up at my normal time of 6:30am. I was smiling; it felt good to know that at least my internal alarm clock wasn't working against me like it was yesterday. I slowly began stretching out my body; it didn't feel quite right. Normally, I would have a light ache in my muscles as a result from my daily training. I didn't feel anything of the sort and I cursed under my breath, annoyed to have lost a day in the rigorous regime I had set for myself. It wasn't like I was a gym rat or anything, actually that was a lie but I had goals and they wouldn't be achieved lying in bed. Nor would they be achieved if I was unable to exercise for a week.

My plan was very simple; I wanted to be a member of the Olympic Women's Boxing Team. The very boxing team that would be going to London in 2012. It was a pretty big deal for women to be allowed a chance to fight, there wasn't a team in the Beijing summer games and women's boxing was considered illegal in Britain until 1998. I wanted to wipe away the stereotypes of women in boxing. Either you aren't taken seriously or you are looked at like a side show. I wanted to help bring equality and recognition to the women of boxing and the best way I could do that would be by making the Olympic team.

This brought me back to my problem at hand…Carlisle. He had all the power; he could hold me back or allow me to push forward. Hopefully at my appointment with him this morning, he could see that I was fine and allow me to continue training. I hoped. And if I had to use guilt to get what I wanted, I wasn't above that.

Looking back at my alarm clock on the bedside table, 6:35am, I sighed. Waking up this early did cause one problem; I didn't have anything to do with my time until my appointment with Carlisle at 9:30am. Normally, early morning hours would be filled with my run and training session at Kellington's followed by teaching yoga classes in the afternoon.

Today I needed to come up with something else, especially after my slip up with Jimmy and subsequent saving from Emmett. No, I'd have to be good today; I did not need another reason to be indebted to Emmett. The breakfast he ate yesterday was enough to feed a family of four not to mention it cost me a small fortune.

Personal hygiene was probably a good place to start seeing as I skipped that yesterday in my anxiety to talk with Jimmy. Actually, a bath would be a really nice way to force myself to relax and if I managed to stretch it out, I could take at least an hour and half to get ready maybe even two hours if I straightened my hair.

An hour and fifty minutes later, I managed to bathe, get dressed, blow dry and straighten my hair. I even convinced myself to spend five minutes applying some light makeup. I didn't usually wear makeup, especially since it melted off during my sessions at the gym. However, I didn't think today would be a waste of makeup. I knew Carlisle pretty well and if I was being honest, I was fairly certain he'd want to keep me from training for at least another few days before allowing a gradual return to my regular sessions.

Pleased with my ability to kill time, I grabbed an apple off the kitchen counter shoved it into my purse and headed for my car. The drive to Carlisle's office wasn't too far from my townhouse and conveniently, there was half a dozen Starbucks along the way. After passing the fourth Starbucks, I pulled up to the drive-thru of the fifth one, secretly hoping that by bringing coffee for Carlisle and Esme, his wife and nurse/receptionist, it would soften him up a bit before he made his decision about my training. Even if the coffee ruse didn't work, it was also a silent apology for my shitty fight on the weekend.

With coffee tray in hand and purse over my shoulder, I pulled the door to Carlisle's office. Esme was tucked behind a large reception desk with a high counter; you could only see the top half of her face. The waiting area was also large, and had some of the nicest waiting room chairs I'd ever sat in, not those plastic ones that made your ass go numb if you had to wait longer than 20 minutes. A hand full of people already waiting spread out amongst the chairs. It didn't concern me because they could be waiting for any of the three doctors that worked in Carlisle's office.

"Bella! It's so nice to see you again," Esme called to me as we made eye contact. I could hear the smile in her voice and see it in her eyes even if I couldn't see her mouth to know she was smiling.

"Esme, it's great to see you too. How have you been?" I asked as I placed the coffee on the countertop.

"Busy, but well," she responded as she stood up to give me the best hug she could manage with an entire desk between us.

"Oh? What's keeping you busy these days? You know, besides running an office and running around after a preschooler?" Esme gently laughed and nodded her head at me, I didn't give her time to elaborate any further as I pulled out one of the white to-go cups and passed her the tray. "I brought you a Chai Tea Latte and a black Pike Place Roast for Carlisle," I said while pointing to each one.

"That is really sweet of you Bella. Thank you." She took a dainty sip from her drink as to not burn her mouth and 'hmmed' in approval. "You can have a seat, Carlisle isn't here just yet. He had to make a stopover at the hospital to visit a few post-op patients but should be in shortly." I had expected as much, Carlisle was a well known orthopaedic surgeon in the Seattle area; very convenient to have a bone doctor who moonlighted as a Cutman for our boxing club. He even had to set a couple of my own fractured fingers after I didn't properly wrap my hands before a fight. I only needed to learn that lesson once, albeit said lesson involved two fingers, before I started asking Emmett to do it for me.

"Of course, I'm a bit early anyways," I smiled back at her and found a seat in the corner by a table of magazines. I sipped on my Caramel Macchiato and read the latest gossip magazine, not paying attention as the waiting room gradually filled up with other patients.

After a short while, having lost interest in the magazine, I chose to people watch. Nothing too exciting, an elderly couple sat together, the man with a walker in front of him. A mother with a death grip on a little boy who was trying to make an escape from her arms. A bored looking girl about my age who kept looking at her watch.

One of my favourite things to do while people watching was to make up a story about them, I chose the bored girl.

I decided her name was Jessica. Jessica recently graduated from the University of Washington, majoring in Education. Based on Jessica's choice of non-descript black slacks and blazer combo, she would be heading to fill in as a substitute teacher later this morning at a local elementary school which was why she kept looking at her watch; the doctor was running late, therefore she was running late.

Jessica huffed in annoyance after a third look at her watch in under a minute. In an attempt to distract herself, she began looking around the waiting area, much like I did a few minutes earlier. I diverted my eyes to avoid being caught staring.

After a pause, I chanced a look up; Jessica has found something that held her interest. She was staring out the front door; I looked to see what put such a predatory smile on her face but was at the wrong angle from my corner to see anything. I assumed it was a guy because Jessica had now whipped out a compact; checking her face and fluffing her bottle blond hair. I didn't have to wait long to see if I was correct because I heard the door swing open and heavy foot falls on the tiled floor. I heard shuffling and looked back to see Jessica had decided to sit a little taller, no longer slouching, sticking out her chest. Cue my eye roll. I could see her mind going over all the ways in which she would strike up a conversation, should he decide that he just had to sit beside her instead of one of many open chairs.

Looking back toward the door way, there wasn't anyone there. Looking around to see what I missed, I spotted a tall male figure standing at the desk I was at not ten minutes ago, talking to Esme. Esme smiled at him and motioned toward the waiting area. Before he turned around, I noticed something familiar. It was familiar because I'd spent most of the night dreaming about it, much to my fascination and annoyance. It was that damn military helmet. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I held my breath and waited the three seconds for the guy to turn around.

Grey eyes were looking right at me, it was Jasper. I quickly looked down at the seat beside me and placed my purse in it, indicating I did not want him to sit next to me. Rude, I knew, but I just didn't have it in me to care considering our previous interactions. However, Jasper appeared not to be easily deterred as he sat in the chair opposite mine in the corner by the table and placed his helmet on the chair beside him mirroring my position. I released my breath in a huff of annoyance and looked over at him, he was smirking. I want to hate the smirk simply on the basis that it was directed at me, but the twinkle in his eye made it very difficult.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, not bothering with a good morning greeting. His eyebrows raise a bit, he seemed taken aback by my harsh tone, he obviously didn't expect me to come right out and ask.

"Same reason you're here, I suppose. To see Carlisle," Jasper responded like it was obvious, which it should have been, given we were both in a waiting room at a doctor's office.

I rolled my eyes at myself while nodding at him and took a sip of my coffee to avoid further conversation. I looked back over at him, because I liked to make myself suffer; the smirk was back and again, being directed at me. Something had amused him, I realized it was me.

"What?" I questioned looking down at myself to see if I forgot to put a shirt on this morning or something else equally embarrassing that would result in a guy looking at me that way. I looked back up, challenging him with my eyes to tell me what he found so amusing. But before he could answer, there was ringing from the pocket of his jeans, breaking our silent stare-off. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, a slight frown appearing on his face.

"Excuse me, I have to take this," he mumbled while grabbing his helmet and quickly walked toward the door with long powerful strides.

"Whatever," I muttered under my breath in annoyance. This was the third time I'd seen the guy, second I'd actually spoken to him and all we managed was a thirty second interaction. Was I that difficult to talk to? How was it that he could get me so hot under the collar? And if I was being honest with myself, hot other places, while I seemingly had no effect on him. _At least he said more than two words this time, that's progress, right? _

I watched the doorway, waiting for him to return. It was clear the phone call wouldn't be a short one when he didn't come back right away and I returned back to people watching with less enthusiasm than before.

My eyes wandered over the same people and made their way back to Jessica. She was looking at me. Her would be pretty face was distorted into a sneer of jealousy and I quickly looked away and in the direction of Esme's desk where I saw Carlisle had arrived.

They were talking quietly to one another and Esme handed him the coffee I brought. He looked up in my direction, a warm smile filled his face as we make eye contact. As I returned his smile paying no attention to the poorly disguised scoff coming from Jessica's direction. Carlisle had his coffee in one hand and a file folder under his arm as he walked around the desk and called out my name.

I quickly gathered my purse and coffee and made my way towards Carlisle. While I passed by the front door I chanced a look outside to see if I could spot Jasper. He was still on his cell phone and looked a little angry, waving his arm around aggressively.

"Bella, sorry to keep you waiting," Carlisle smiled again as I approached him. I followed him down the hall and we made our way into an exam room.

"Oh, no worries Carlisle. Esme told me you were caught at the hospital, it happens."

"Well, I hope you weren't waiting too long."

"No, not very long," I reassured while I sat my purse and coffee on a chair and then hopped up on an exam table.

"So, let's do a quick check and see how things are, shall we?" He didn't leave me any time to respond as he pulled out his light and began the same tests as before. "How has your head been since Saturday? Any headaches, dizziness or nausea?"

"I had a small headache on Sunday morning but I'm blaming Emmett on that one. His snoring is loud and having to be woken up every hour, you'd have a headache as well. Otherwise, no problems, I feel great in fact." He chuckled at my joke and tucked the light back into his coat pocket.

"Well, I think you're doing great. The concussion wasn't that bad. I'd say you'll be good to return to full training by the week's end."

"So by full training, you mean I can do some training in the mean time?" I asked hopeful.

"You're in great shape, Bella. Athletes tend to recover from these types of injuries faster than non-athletes. I know you're itching to get back to your regular sessions. However, I can't allow you to do anything high impact just yet. But, I also can't reasonably expect you to just sit at home and not do anything. So, let's compromise with light activity until the weekend and then you can go back to normal, OK?"

"That sounds fair, Carlisle. I'm just happy I don't have to find someone to cover all my classes at the Y. I probably would have done those even if you restricted me," I smiled at him cringing at my blatant honesty.

"I know you would have. That's why I'm giving you permission to do that and only that until the weekend. I don't want you at the club and I want you to take it easy at the first sign of any dizziness or nausea. I also think it would be wise to cancel your fight this coming Saturday if you have one, just to be safe." Carlisle smiled back and began to jot down some notes in my file. Normally I would argue about cancelling my fight but didn't need to since I didn't have a fight this weekend. I was quite pleased with this meeting; Carlisle had been more than reasonable with his restrictions.

"That's all then?"

"For today, stop by the front desk and let Esme know I'd like to see Jasper before I get started with the rest of the patients if you don't mind."

"Yeah, I can do that," I agreed while slinging my purse over my shoulder and grabbing my now lukewarm coffee. I wanted to ask him why Jasper was here too but know he wouldn't break doctor patient confidentiality so I kept my question to myself. "See ya later, Carlisle." I said as we walked out of the exam room. While walking down the hallway, Carlisle was beside me taking a sip of his coffee, chart tucked back under his arm.

"Thanks for this, by the way," he gestured to the coffee as he walked into his office.

"Any time," I smiled back continuing toward the reception area.

Esme was on the phone when I approached her desk. Trying to give her some privacy, I busied myself with drinking the last of my coffee and looked around the waiting area again, Jasper had yet to return. I wondered what could be so important that he'd been outside talking on the phone all this time. I turned back to Esme as I heard her hang up the telephone.

"Carlisle says he'd like to see Jasper before he gets started with his regular patients."

"Oh, thanks Bella," Esme said while standing up and grabbing what I assumed was Jasper's chart. A frown appeared on her face as she scaned the waiting room.

"I think he might still be outside, that's where he went earlier," I offered, looking over at Esme. "I can let him know if he's still out there on my way to my car, if you'd like."

"That would be very helpful Bella," Esme said over the ring of the telephone. I waved at her as she picked up the call, making my way to the front door. Throwing my empty cup away as I passed by a trash can.

Once outside, I took a quick look around the parking lot. Jasper had parked his red and black Harley next to my red Expedition. I was lame enough to have noticed the shades of red were not quite the same. Jasper's was more of a cherry red, darker than my candy apple red. After my color assessment, I took a fleeting moment to smile at the thought of how it would look to see these two vehicles parked beside each other in front of my townhouse. My thoughts were interrupted as I noticed Jasper pacing back and forth on the pavement between our vehicles still talking on his cell phone.

He must not have noticed me because he didn't lower his volume or make an attempt to hide the anger in his voice to whomever he was speaking with.

"I don't care what they say they are going to do, they can't blame me for this mess…It's not your fault either…Everything would be so much easier if you just switched with me…Just give it a thought, would you?… Please, I don't want them to cause problems for you too," Jasper trailed off when he saw me approaching and stopped his pacing. I began searching through my purse trying to look like I hadn't just heard his one-sided conversation.

"Look, I've got to go. I'll call you later, OK?" Jasper said hastily.

My hand landed on the apple I grabbed before leaving the house and I chomped my teeth into it, looking like a pig ready for a roasting spit no doubt. At the sound of Jasper snapping his cell phone shut and I pulled the apple from my mouth slowly chewing on the sweet flesh as I looked toward him. The frown was still on his face and I wanted to smooth the crease between his eyes. I mentally scolded myself for having such thoughts when I saw his hard stare at me, clearly he did not hold the same affections toward me.

"Carlisle is ready to see you now," I said to him after I swallowed the mouthful of apple, avoiding an admission of hearing the tail end of his conversation.

"Right, I should head in," Jasper said still looking at me with suspicion and a questioning look on his face. _Does he think I was eavesdropping? _We were standing awkwardly looking at each other for a moment and I was uncertain what to do next.

Shaking my head at myself I nodded at him, taking another bite of my apple, leaving it in my mouth again while I fished my hand back into my purse to find my keys. I pressed the unlock button, hearing that annoying beep sound to indicate it was unlocked.

"See you around, Jasper," I said around another mouthful of apple. Jasper opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to say something only to quickly close it. Taking that as my cue to leave I made my way over to the driver's side door, away from Jasper and his bike.

"Wait! What did Carlisle say to you, are you still restricted from training this week?" Jasper suddenly appeared behind me and I startled at his voice, dropping my apple to the ground. "Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he mumbled as he bent sown to pick up the fruit. He looked at it for a moment, uncertain if I wanted it back and finally held it out to me. I looked down, frowning at the dirt marring the white of the apple's flesh but still taking it from him.

"I'm partially restricted," I said looking away from the apple and back to Jasper. His eyebrows relaxed a little and the crease lessens. I pulled out a Kleenex from my purse and wrapped it around the useless apple. "I can do light training but nothing at the gym until the end of the week." _Why was he suddenly interested if I could train?_

"Oh, well, that's good, right? Better than not being able to do anything," his grey eyes were searching mine and I answered him before I could stop myself.

"I suppose. It's nice to know I'll still be able to do my job and continue my morning runs."

"You mean like the run you took to the gym yesterday morning?" His tone was teasing but also let me know, he'd paid more attention to me than I thought. It also lead me to a revelation that maybe I wasn't so stealthy either.

"You noticed that did you?" I said, my face warm with embarrassment.

"Sure, who else comes into a gym wearing running shoes and listening to their iPod when they are only supposed to be there for a talk?" He looked a little surprised at his own admission for a moment before flashing me his now trademark smirk. _Jesus, that smirk, why was it so infuriatingly hot? _I was sure he knew what that smirk does to girls; why else would he use it so much.

"I didn't realize you paid so much attention to me, Jasper. Do I need to take out a restraining order?" My tone was light and joking but I saw a look of panic cross his face for moment before he covered it up with a forced cough-laugh.

"Uh, no. You needn't worry about me, unless you want to," he rushed out. His eyes were twinkling in a silent challenge.

"I'll let you slide this time. But know this, my father is the Chief of Police in Forks and a phone call can easily be made to the station here," I smiled back at him.

"Is that so, I'll be sure to watch myself then."

"You do that. You should also go see Carlisle before Esme has to come out here and get you," I said shifting my gaze toward the Clinic where Esme could be seen looking out the window in our direction.

"Shit, right," Jasper said, turning to leave but not moving until after he used the same words I said to him only minutes before. "See you around, Bella."

He didn't bother waiting for me to answer as he quickly jogged across the parking lot and into the Clinic. Shaking my head, I climbed up into my SUV unsure of what exactly just happened. Would that teasing exchange be considered flirting? Possibly. But how could I be certain based on my limited interactions with him? I'd have to reserve judgment at this time. However, more important than flirting, what had Jasper meant when he said _I don't want them to cause problems for you too _while on his phone call? Was Jasper in some sort of trouble? If so, did this trouble have something to do with him leaving his last trainer?

So many questions rattled around my mind while I drove back home. There was only one way to find out the answers, I'd have to hope Jasper continued our friendly exchanges so that I could see if he dropped any hints. It shouldn't be too difficult to strike up conversation considering Jimmy said he wanted me to start training with Jasper instead of Emmett. What I considered punishment was now a convenience. _Thank you, Jimmy! _

The only disappointment would be that I'd have to wait until Saturday when we had the club's weekly training session before I could actually see Jasper again. Wait, maybe that's why Jasper was so interested if I could start training again, Jimmy must have told him he wanted us to be partners. Shit, maybe it wasn't flirting after all. Maybe he didn't want to be stuck without a sparring partner. My curiosity was starting to get the better of me. To make matters worse, I wouldn't be getting any answers until Saturday. I was not the most patient person at times. This would definitely be a long five days.

* * *

So, just a couple of things.

First, I'd like to thank everyone who is reading my story. I smile everytime I get a message that it's been put it on alert/favorite. And a special thanks to those of you who have reviewed!

Next, I want to tell you about a One Shot contest that yours truly is on the panel of judges! It's called Show Us Your Rebel. It's an anonymous contest and submissions are being accepted until September 30th. The link is on my profile, be sure to check that out.

Finally, I do have a teaser from Chapter 5 for those of you kind enough to review!

~Christie


	5. Clash of the Tornadocane

Firstly, HUGE apologies to anyone who got fakeout update notifications this week. I decided I didn't like writing in present tense and went back and edited all the chapters to be in past tense which is why all of a sudden it may look like I updated all the chapters...really sorry about that...and if you didn't get the notification, please ignore this message. :-) And if I happened to leave any verb tenses in present, my apologies.

Next order of business, you may notice I spell some words with the letter u for example: favourite, favour, colour, tumour. There is a good reason for this, I'm Canadian and that's just how we spell such words, I hope if you aren't used to seeing that extra letter you can look past it.

I still do not own Twilight, this chapter however does own some flavourless pieces of Hubba Bubba that I chewed while writing.

This chapter was not beta'd all mistakes are mine.

* * *

Chapter 5: Clash of the Tornadocane

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." ~ Muhammad Ali

After my revelation in the parking lot of Carlisle's office, I played and re-played what I had dubbed The Apple Incident in my mind the entire week. Analyzing each thing Jasper had said, how he said it, the way his face looked while he said it. Each time I did, I would come up with an entirely different conclusion. It was confusing and frustrating me to no end.

At one point while teaching one of my beginner yoga classes, I was so wrapped up in my own mind that I had the class holding the Downward Dog position a good minute longer than I normally would. It actually took someone falling over after losing balance to break me out of my Jasper haze. That was when I drew the line and had to barter with myself to only think about it when in private. Which then resulted in my mind jumping into the nearest gutter. I even rolled my eyes at myself for _already_ giving the guy the leading role in my fantasies. It was a vicious cycle of "He loves me, he loves me not" minus the flower and petal pulling.

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure how he did it. With most guys I was able to ignore or shrug off their blatant advances using my busy schedule at the gym as an excuse. But not for Jasper, the fact that he was training at the same gym just made him that much more appealing to me. He would understand my obsession to train and my ridiculous hours devoted to obtaining my goal. He also didn't chase me around like the other guys. Was it his lack of flattery and fawning that gave him the appeal? It couldn't possibly be that. We only had two thirty second encounters and one five minute conversation where we may or may not had flirted. I couldn't allow my girly bits to get all worked up over a brief interaction with the guy.

Maybe it was the enigma of Jasper; the mystery that seemed to follow him. I hardly knew a thing about him outside of his name and that he rode a Harley. Yet, I couldn't stop obsessing about him. It didn't help matters that every time I saw him he'd seem to get better looking than the last time; again, I'd only laid eyes on him three times, but who was counting? I couldn't imagine how he'd be looking after a few training sessions. Which would get me started on the idea of a hot and sweaty Jasper. It was safe to say I'd become completely obsessed and desperate for answers by the end of the week and I hated myself for the amount of time I spent thinking about him.

I hadn't realized my constant analysis had been so obvious to outsiders until Angela, one of the other yoga instructors, brought up my lack of focus and general disconnect at the end of the week.

"You alright, Bella?" Angela asked as she walked into the staff lounge after one of her classes.

"Hmmm?" I replied, breaking my unfocused gaze and looking up at her. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"No reason really. You know, besides the fact that every time I see you, you've got this pensive look on your face or you're blushing like a virgin on her wedding night," she smiled at me while lifting one eyebrow knowingly.

"It's nothing, really," I offered lamely. Her look of disbelief had me quickly retracting my previous statement. "Ok, fine. I've just been a bit pre-occupied thinking about how I'm going to make up for a week's worth of training sessions down at the club once Carlisle gives me clearance tomorrow." My quick lie and half truth sounded believable even to me. But before I could mentally pat myself on the back, Angela continued to dig for answers.

"Well, that explains the pensive look, but doesn't shed any light on the blushing. Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"Not really."

I didn't miss Angela's frown and renewed determination. She would not let this go until she got an acceptable answer. And from past experience, I knew she wasn't above going to Emmett and snooping around there, which would only lead to more questions I wouldn't know how to answer.

"Fine," I huffed at her as she sat down beside me on the couch, looking very much like one of the gossiping old ladies at a church function. "There's a new guy that joined the club this past week. I don't know much about him, so don't ask. However, Jimmy's decided he wants us to train together for a bit," I finished looking up at her.

"That's fantastic, Bella. It's been so long since you've been interested in a guy. What's his name?"

"Wait, I didn't say anything about being interested," I corrected, looking over at her. Angela rolled her eyes at me still expecting an answer to her question. She was more perceptive than I'd given her credit for.

"Jasper, his boxing nickname is The Major."

"The Major, huh? I wonder how he got that name? Maybe something to do with his anatomy?" I could tell Angela's joke was an attempt to lighten up my mood, but she'd only succeeded in reminding me of my previous dirty thoughts. Shaking my head and giving a light laugh, trying not to appear affected by her comment.

"No, Ange. Boxers don't generally get their nicknames from what's under their cup, you perv!"

"Hey, I'm just saying what you were thinking. I know you too well, Bella. You give off this sweet and innocent vibe to anyone who even tries to put the moves on you. I've also seen you fight; I know that other side of your personality, the feisty girl who's hungry for a challenge."

"Yeah, yeah…whatever you say." I deflected her correct assessment of my double personality and pulled myself off the couch. "You done for the day, now?" I asked effectively closing the subject.

"No, I've got one more class left. Which reminds me, can you cover next Sunday morning's Mommy Fit session for me? Ben and I want to get away for the weekend to this cute little B&B down in Westport."

"Yeah, sure, I love seeing all the little babies."

"Great, I really appreciate it! I'll let Gianna know about the switch before I leave for the night and she can call the moms."

"It's no problem, just remember this when I'm gone up to Canada for a tournament next month and Emmett and I decide to say a few days afterwards for a much needed mini-vacation," I replied smiling back at her.

"Of course. Maybe by then it won't be Emmett you're staying behind with. Maybe it'll be Jasper." She elbowed me and wagged her eyebrows looking much like a female version of Joey Tribbiani after saying 'How you doin'?'.

"I highly doubt that, Ange," shaking my head as I grabbed my bag from my locker and made my way toward the hall. "I'll see you next week, right?"

"I'll be here. And I'll expect and update on the latest Jasper gossip!" I groaned while Angela laughed at my expense. She just couldn't let it go. Angela was worse than the church ladies in her quest for juicy gossip.

''*"

Saturday morning brought a light drizzle and a nervous anticipation filling my insides leaving no room for breakfast. I was anxious to get the weekly club meeting and training session started. I didn't know what would happen with Jimmy or Jasper for that matter.

Jimmy I was confident I could handle. He was very much a creature of habit. He would expect us at the club by 8:00am where he would re-cap the previous week's fights. I had yet to be on the receiving end of one of his "This is what we're gonna do for ya" lectures. The lecture itself would be a joke, I already knew where things went drastically wrong and what I could do to fix it. It was called being an imbecile and actually putting to use all the skills I'd worked so hard to finesse. He would then finish the team meeting discussing the up coming fights and the out of town tournament planned for next month. Provided Jimmy didn't deviate from his usual meeting agenda, I'd be able to handle him.

Jasper on the other hand, I was more concerned about. I couldn't seem to get him out of my mind. This was becoming an unhealthy obsession. Maybe once Jimmy paired everyone off for sparring, I would be able to focus my energy on hitting something and give my brain a rest; letting muscle memory take over the controls. That would be refreshing.

It would be so much easier to hate Jasper. If I had only kept my mouth shut and not offered to fetch him from the parking lot on Monday for Esme. Before The Apple Incident, I was sufficiently annoyed with him and itching for a reason to dislike him more with plans to avoid him as much as possible. Instead he had to be all concerned about my restrictions, and let me know he actually did notice instead of shrugging me off like I had thought the morning we were introduced.

And that fucking smirk. Pre-Apple Incident Bella would have rolled her eyes and wanted to do painful things to remove said smirk from Jasper's face. Post-Apple Incident Bella wanted to shake some sense into Pre-Apple Incident Bella for being an idiot. That smirk was causing an internal war and right now; those in favour of the smirk were winning the battle and I couldn't decide which team to cheer for.

I'd never really been an indecisive person. I knew the day Emmett came over to show me his shiny new boxing gloves that afternoon the beginning of ninth grade that I wanted to do it as well. Then when my mom, Renee realized it wasn't just a passing phase she tried to convince me that boxing was a boy's sport and introduced me to "the more feminine art of yoga" as she'd put it. Instead of choosing one sport over the other I kept up with both, much to Renee's vexation. My father, Charlie didn't mind it so much, he liked having something in common we could talk about. Boxing was one of the many sports he watched on the flat screen. It was Charlie who took turns with Mrs. McCarty driving Emmett and I to and from boxing practice twice a week until we were old enough to drive ourselves.

When we graduated high school, it was an easy decision to forgo post-secondary education choosing instead to become a Certified Yoga Instructor. It offered the flexibility I needed to pursue my boxing training. Not to mention ever since I'd started doing yoga it helped with my perpetual clumsiness.

I didn't even bat an eyelash when Emmett suggested we move to Seattle from the sleepy town of Forks so we could find a coach that would train us both; me for my ambitious dreams of Olympic glory and Emmett for his desire to turn pro. I did however draw the line at living together; Emmett settled for living in the same complex, across the parking lot from each other. We'd been living in Seattle for just over five years in a pleasant bubble of comfort and predictability.

Yep, making all of those decisions had come easy to me. I could always spot the wise choice and follow through. I hadn't been able to do that for a week. Every bad decision was like Six degrees of Jasper Whitlock, they always ended up back at him. It needed to stop.

Ihad decided the best plan of action when dealing with Jasper would be to remember my ultimate goal, a spot on the Olympic Team. Once Carlisle gave me the go ahead today, I'd focus my time and energy to think of nothing else. My new mantra would be if it didn't help me get closer to my goal, it wouldn't register on my list of things to do. I would no longer allow myself time to obsess.

I wanted to blame my need to be a hard-ass on the fact that I wasn't allowed to train. Usually I'd work myself hard enough that by the end of the day I was too tired to think past what I would eat for supper. This last week of inactivity left me with ample time to over think all things Jasper. Idle hands really did belong to the Devil; his playground was my mind and it was time to kick him out.

My plan would remain much the same as before, with three simple steps. Avoid Jasper when at all possible. Power through the training sessions Jimmy wanted me to do with him until I could go back to Emmett. And finally, push aside all thoughts of Jasper including digging for answers to the questions that were currently burning a hole in my mind; the no thoughts rule would most definitely mean no more fantasizing.

It should be simple, easy even.

It was a pipe dream, and I knew it. Should was a word in my volcabulary that always lead to disappointment and disaster.

Saturday mornings were the only day of the week when I didn't run to Kellington's, we trained hard enough during the group session that adding an extra two hours of cardio was too much, even for me. Emmett and I usually took turns driving, alternating weeks. Today, it was his turn which also meant he was required to pay for the coffee we always stopped to get. Aside from when Emmett spoke to the voice box in the drive-thru, we were both content with the silence and didn't feel the need to fill our ride with inane chatter.

Emmett pulled up to Kellington's and parked in the side parking lot. My eyes quickly scanned the area, looking for a familiar Harley. Disappointment bubbled in my stomach when I didn't spot Jasper's bike. I wanted to be relieved that he wasn't here yet but was unable to fabricate the emotion. We grabbed our gym bags and coffee and walked the short distance to the front of the building.

As we walked in, again I couldn't stop my eyes as they scanned the handful of people that had already arrived, looking for the tall guy with blond hair. I heard my namebeing called and looked over to see blond hair but it was all wrong, short and straight not long and wavy. Trying to squash the increasing dissatisfaction I made my way over to Carlisle, forcing a smile on my face.

"Morning, Carlisle. Here to check on your favourite injured boxer again?"

"Good morning to you too, Bella. Yes, I'm here to check on you and a couple of others," Carlisle smiled warmly at me and walked into Jimmy's office to give us a few moments of privacy while he checked me over and asked the same questions as before. Satisfied with my answers and exam, he could not site any other reasons to continue my restriction and gave me the all clear. A genuine smile spread across my face as I walked out of Carlisle's make shift exam room in Jimmy's office.

"You must have gotten good news to be wearing a smile that big, Cricket," Emmett smiled at me as I made my way over to him where he was standing with Tyler and Paul.

"Carlisle says I can go back to kicking your asses again, boys! Better bring extra padding," I laughed.

"Whatever you say, Swan. You know we just don't like to hit girls," Paul retorted.

"Oh no, my friend. That is not what happened if my memory serves…I'm pretty sure she knocked you flat on your back last time you two went toe to toe," I smiled at Emmett, always my protector and defender.

"You girls discuss this amongst yourselves, I'm gonna get changed before Jimmy's ready for the meeting." I said over my shoulder while walking toward the change rooms.

Someone must have said something funny because all I heard was raucous laughter and then a course of "Hey!" as I pushed open the door the the lady's change room. I changed into my regular training attire of Lululemon shorts sports bra and tank top, today I had chosen red. I secured my hair at the base of my head making sure to have it low enough that it wouldn't get in the way of the protective head gear I'd need to wear when sparring. After lacing up my short boots I grabbed my hand wraps, and coffee returning to the gym to wait for Jimmy to get the meeting started.

Walking through the changing room doors I looked up to see everyone was gathered around, sitting in chairs and waiting for the meeting to start. There was a single chair left for me to sit on in the semi-circle. It did not escape me that the chair I was expected to sit in was wedged between Emmett and Jasper. He must have arrived while I was changing. _How am I supposed to avoid him when I'm being forced to sit beside him? Is this a test of my will power?_

I sat down, draping my hand wraps across my legs. I looked over at Emmett with a frown, he offered a shrug and no explanation. Sliding back in my seat a bit, I focused my eyes on the white Starbucks cup in my hands; taking a sip, trying in vain to appear unaffected. Jasper shifted in an attempt to get comfortable. From the corner of my eye, I saw him crossing his arms at his chest, the leather of his jacket making a noise as it rubbed against itself. His legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. Along with his standard leather jacket, he wore dark denim jeans and Doc Marten boots. Just as I silently wondered if that was all he owned for clothing Jimmy walked up, clipboard in hand, ready to start the meeting.

"Pink Lady," Jasper whispered quietly angling his body so that he could speak without drawing Jimmy's attention as he began the meeting. Surprised, I looked over at Jasper. He was holding an apple in his hand waiting for me to take it.

"Huh?" My reply was not at all in keeping with Jasper's hushed tone causing all eyes to turn in our direction. The sudden attention was unwelcomed and I could feel my face warming with embarrassment.

"I owe you an apple. Pink Lady apples are my favourite," he handed me the apple and turned his attention back to Jimmy; resuming his previous position, legs stretched out and arms crossed over his chest. I was so confused. Turning the apple in my hand, I saw the little round sticker, the white a sharp contrast to the pink-red color of the fruit. Closer inspection of the sticker revealed the small script identifying that the apple was indeed, a Pink Lady.

I stared at those two words looking for the answers to all my questions. Why would he feel like he owed me an apple? Was this because of Monday in the parking lot at Carlisle's office? I was the one who dropped the apple, not him. Although, it was Jasper's question that had startled me thus causing the situation. He obviously felt guilty about the apple and felt the need to replace the one I'd dropped. Had he been obsessing over The Apple Incident as much as I? Or maybe he was just being nice. Nice people brought others apples, right?

I was vaguely aware of Jimmy talking while I debated the reasoning behind Jasper's actions, but it was a mention of my name that brought me back to the conversation going on around me.

"Swan, did you hear me?" Jimmy called. I stopped my staring contest with the apple and looked up, again all eyes pointed in my direction; it was starting to get old.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said, we were going to skip analysis of your match from Saturday since we've already discussed it in private. That is, unless you'd like to rehash it again?"

"No thanks, once is enough for me. Sorry," I said quietly feeling like a grade A ass for not paying attention. I was usually very attentive during these meetings, sometimes I actually took notes if I found it necessary.

"Right, so moving on," Jimmy held eye contact with me ensuring I was paying attention before looking down at his clip board again. "We have a new member to the club, his name is Jasper Whitlock. Some of you may have already met him. I'm sure you can figure out who I'm talking about since there is only eight of us here." Everyone turned toward Jasper with a chorus of 'hellos' and I was happy to not be the topic of discussion any more.

"Hey, nice to meet ya," Jasper's response was smooth and easy as he uncrossed his left arm from his chest and offered a half wave; seemingly unaffected by the attention I had cringed under.

"I want everyone to make him feel welcomed; we're a family and I don't want to hear anything about people giving him a hard time. Got it?" Jimmy looked around the small group, nodding his head in finality.

"Last thing I want to discuss before we begin the session are the fights slated for next Saturday. Weigh-in is on Wednesday, I expect you all here by 9:00am so Carlisle can do the formal checks and send them in. Also, since the majority of you have fights next week, we'll skip the weekly meeting here in the morning so you can get a proper rest. That means no going out the night before drinking and showing up with a hang over," Jimmy looked over at Paul and Tyler who were snickering at the memory of the time they not only went out drinking but showed up to the weekly session still drunk. Jimmy worked them so hard they both threw up. It was a lesson I did not wish to learn.

"What about the tournament up in Victoria next month?" Emmett asked.

"Vicky sent in the paperwork for everyone who wanted to attend. We'll hear back by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week with who everyone is scheduled to fight against for the first round. All the accommodations and such will be organized once we get confirmation of registration. Any other questions?" Jimmy looked around. With nothing left to discuss he ended the meeting.

"OK, let's start the session. I want the normal parings, with a couple of exceptions; McCarty, I want you with Tyler, he needs to work on his footing. Whitlock, I want you and Swan together; based on her last match, she needs help with blocking. That's all."

Jasper nodded his head to Jimmy and followed the rest of the guys who needed to change. I was left alone with my cold coffee and an apple. I threw out the coffee and went to put the apple in my bag. Until I could discern Jasper's intentions and knew it wasn't poisoned, I wouldn't be eating it. I grabbed my ipod and went to plug it into the sound system wired to the speakers around the club; knowing most everyone else liked to have something to listen to while training. It was too early for anything heavy, so I settled on Coheed and Cambria setting it to shuffle through the songs but starting it on the album "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth". It was my favourite album and never failed to put me in a good mood, lest I started my training session with Jasper already annoyed which was rapidly becoming more of a possibility the longer it took for him to change.

After a few minutes of standing around I grew impatient and started to wrap my hands. It was a futile attempt and I settled on waiting for Emmett to come out so I could get him to do it for me. A couple of the guys, neither Emmett or Jasper, walked out of the change rooms, talking something about breaking hearts and pretty faces and laughing loudly. Huffing in annoyance, I began to stretch my muscles by doing a bit of yoga; also an attempt to calm my irritation. What was taking them so long? Were they sitting down and having a tea party?

Seven agonizing minutes later Emmett decided he was ready to get started. The only problem was that he was headed toward the opposite side of the gym where Tyler was waiting for him; he didn't even look in my direction. I started to walk over to get him to wrap my hands but was stopped dead in my tracks as Jasper finally stepped out of the change room.

Two things hit the floor, my hand wraps and my jaw. I couldn't be bothered to pick up either, I was too busy staring. I hated to admit it to myself, but if he showed up at my door selling a one way ticket to Hell I'd buy two just so that he could go with me so my staring wouldn't be interrupted.

His boots were the tall version to my shorter ones. He was wearing black shorts that stopped a couple of inches above his knees showing off his defined quadriceps as he walked. I wanted to watch his knees as the muscles moved with each step he took but felt it imperative to assess the entire package before I dedicated my attention to a single body part. His narrow waist widened up through a muscular chest and broad, powerful shoulders lead to tanned, well defined arms.

My only saving grace was that he was wearing a black muscle shirt; although, it didn't leave much to the imagination seeing as it was clinging to every line and groove drawing a map of each muscle. I needed to be exposed to his form little by little so that I didn't spontaneously combust. If he had come out shirtless like most of they guys, it would have been the end of me, I was certain. _But what a way to die._ I would only feel slightly bad for the person who would have had to clean up all the Bella bits around the gym.

I felt like a hypocrite. So many times, I had found myself annoyed at the boxer babes (as I had started calling them) for their obvious ogling and swooning at the guys during Amateur Fight Night. I was no better than those girls; gaping at Jasper like he was a statue to be studied. But right now however, I no longer cared because my eyes continued their feast and I noticed he had pulled his shaggy blond hair in to a ponytail at the top of his head. Never had something associated with females looked so masculine to me. I knew, the purpose of the ponytail, having long hair myself; gloved hands made it difficult to push your hair back when it fell into your eyes.

Speaking of eyes, his grey ones had darkened to the color of the sky during a thunder storm and they were looking directly at me, eyebrows knit together and then quickly rising up in sudden understanding. I had been caught. Shit. What's worse, I was pretty sure he knew exactly what was going on inside my head, causing a blush the color of my clothes to start at my chest and rapidly rise to my face. So much for my plan of not thinking about Jasper; the image of him right now would forever be burned into my memory. It wasn't fair he looked that good, it would have made things so much easier on me if he were ugly. Who was I kidding, that would be a sin against Mother Nature's hard work and I didn't want to insult her by suggesting she shouldn't have made him so sexy.

We were in a silent staring contest, my second of the day if I included the apple. It didn't matter that there was more than half of the gym between us, the way his gaze penetrated mine felt like he was standing directly in front of me. I wanted to break eye contact but my eyes wouldn't listen to my brain. Then, he smirked and instantly the spell was broken. Annoyed at myself for being caught I rolled my eyes and huffed. Jasper continued to advance, his gait confident and self-assured. As he passed by, he bent down near my feet. I couldn't move. Oh how I wanted to, but it seemed my entire body was no longer accepting direct orders from my brain.

"You dropped these," Jasper's tone was quiet and gentle as he passed me my hand wraps and carried on toward the area I had been doing my stretching in only minutes before. Watching him walk away gave me the mental capacity to remember where I was and what I was supposed to be doing. Had anyone seen my less than composed moment of weakness? I prayed to the boxing gods for mercy before turning around; a quick pass across the room and I seemed to be safe. I was grateful for Jasper's kind consideration; he could have easily said something to draw the attention of the others. But I was in luck, everyone had already started their sessions. Emmett was facing the mirror talking with Tyler and showing him some sort of stance while pointing at his right foot. I breathed a sigh of relief at having not been caught by anyone. Not wishing to draw any attention to myself, I decided to make due with wrapping my own hands instead of going all the way over to Emmett for help.

I fumbled with the material as I tried to get them started but it was useless. Every time I had managed to get it to wrap around my wrist as soon as I would pull to tighten it, the damn thing would come undone. I let out a groan in frustration at myself, I had been boxing for nearly ten years. How had I not figured out how to tie my own wraps yet? Everyone else could do it, why couldn't I?

"Here, let me help you." Jasper said while holding his hand expectantly for the hand wraps.

"I'm fine, I can do it myself," I replied indignantly. My hands refused to cooperate as I tried again in vain to get the wraps tight around my hand like Emmett always did for me.

"You sure about that? I'd hate for you to injure yourself, again." Before my brain could even form a suitable sarcastic retort, Jasper grabbed the long strip of cloth and unwound my sloppy work. With fast and accurate hands he had my right hand wrapped and had moved on to my left. I was stunned. All I could do was stare; watching the way the muscles in his forearms flexed and relaxed as he pulled on the material ensuring it was tight but not to the point of decreased circulation. When he was finished, his eyes met mine and a satisfied look spread across his face. Instantly, I was back to being annoyed with him.

How was it that he could elicit such an emotional tug of war from me in such a short period of time? It was worse than watching a tennis match volleying between annoyed, turned on and the one time substitution of grateful.

"Thanks, Emmett usually does it for me, but he took too long to get changed and then I didn't want to interrupt him," nodding my head in what I hoped was Emmett's general direction. Why did I always say more than I wanted to around him? A simple 'thanks' would have been sufficient. I couldn't control myself around him while I seemingly had no effect on him. Jasper merely shrugged my appreciation and began to stretch.

Although I had already stretched out, I felt the need to try and re-center myself and get a tighter hold of my flighty emotions; closing my eyes and doing a few more yoga positions and began deep cleansing breaths. The anxiety was slowly seeping out of my body and washing away my embarrassment from moments ago. I had only been holding The Triangle pose, a forward lunge with my right hand on my right ankle and left arm stretched toward the ceiling, for about thirty seconds before a throat cleared very close to me. I opened my eyes looking at the source of interruption; Jasper was looking down at me, expression indifferent but eyes still held that stormy grey.

"Ready to start?" He asked, no longer holding eye contact. I slowly released my breath, not wanting to break my rhythm or say something to show my annoyance at being interrupted. I broke the pose and stood up nodding at him that we could begin.

"I know Jimmy wanted me to work on your guarding, but I don't think that's your problem," Jasper said as he handed me my head protector. I tried my best to cover my shocked expression as I pulled it on and fastened it under my chin.

"And what exactly do you think my problem is?" I was curious, he didn't know me from Eve. How did he think that after seeing one match he knew what my abilities were. Especially if he was basing his assessment on a match I had thrown.

"First of all, your feet are fast and you have this innate sense of where you are in the ring at all times. You were dancing circles around that ring like a caged animal. Yet, you let her come to you and didn't initiate any attacks. You were holding back, Bella. There were so many times you could have knocked out that other girl, yet you didn't. I could tell it was bothering you to not let her have it, what some might have perceived as frustration was actually irritation. I just haven't figured out why you didn't let go and have your instincts take over for you."

I was stunned. Jasper had me pegged; I was the round block easily put into the round hole. I didn't know how to respond, I couldn't respond. Jimmy didn't even pick up on what I had done and he had been my coach for as long as I lived in Seattle. I wanted to tell Jasper he was wrong, that I was having an off night, that Lauren _had _bested me but he wasn't finished enlightening me with his analysis.

"You have great form. You know technically what to do. When you do it, you execute it flawlessly and with great force and minimal effort. You're a strategist and pay attention to your opponent. You can spot their weakness and exploit it to your advantage," I realized Jasper was no longer referring to my match from Saturday.

"How do you know so much? You couldn't have gotten all that information from one match; a match I'll remind you, I lost."

"That's because it wasn't from just one match. Despite what you may think about yourself, you have a reputation amongst the female fighters for being extremely focused and a challenge for anyone who fights you because they can't touch you. You know what they call you? They call you the Flying Swan, pretty accurate if you ask me." Jasper was a relentless in his verbal assault. He was telling me things I needed to hear regardless of whether I wanted to hear them. I hadn't known I held such a reputation, was that why the other girls seemed so stand-offish? I always assumed they didn't like me, it was not like I really talked to anyone. I tried to keep to myself and usually only spoke with members of my club during the fight nights and I was the only girl member so I didn't really participate in the friendly banter the other girls had in the change rooms before fights. Jasper interrupted my revelation to offer another shocking piece of information.

"Besides, you didn't really think I'd make my decision to join Jimmy's club based on one night of fights, did you? No, I was planning on switching coaches for a while but wanted be sure of who I wanted before making it known to anyone, including my old coach." If I thought I was stunned before, now, I was gob smacked.

"Why did you leave your coach?" I asked without thinking, breaking yet another important part of my plan. At this point, I had managed to go against all of my self-set rules. My question hung between us like a dead weight, waiting for someone to pick it up and decide what to do with it.

"Don't change the subject, Bella. We're talking about you and what you need to work on. The only thing I feel you could actually use help with is learning to take on a southpaw. Lucky for you, I happen to be one." It didn't escape me that Jasper had avoided my question and brought the conversation back to me.

But he was right, I had never fought against a left-handed boxer and all the other guys here were right-handed. If I wanted to be as good as I could be, I would have to work with Jasper and listen to his instructions because eventually I would come across a southpaw and I didn't want to have that being my only weakness as a boxer. I'd be a sponge and take the opportunity to learn what ever I could from him.

I wouldn't forget what Jasper had said about his old coach either. Knowing what I knew now, only reinforced my curiosity and reignited my desire to figure out his story. It was a stupid idea to think I could avoid Jasper. I should have been creeped out by his admittance to having watched me and the others so closely, but I didn't have the capacity to harness the energy to care at this point. My mind was a tornado of swirling thoughts, one particular tidbit working it's way to the top, ready to be thrown out of the vortex. With a deep breath, I let it fly to land wherever it wanted.

"You lied." I accused. Jasper quirked an eyebrow waiting for me to elaborate further. "Before, when I asked if you were stalking me and you said 'No'. Why did you lie?"

"I'll never lie to you, Bella. I only said you needn't worry about me and didn't need to get a restraining order. I'm here for the same reason you are; to be the best boxer I can and the way I see it, Jimmy can do that for me."

"I don't get it, why Jimmy, you must know about his history, right? I mean, if you have sponsors and are a pro, why not go with some high profile coach instead…" I trailed off realizing I was showing my cards a bit premature. Admitting I knew more than Jasper had offered or Jimmy had told us when introducing him earlier was a dangerous move. Jasper's face hardened and the storm eyes were even darker now, a hurricane approaching my own tornado and I braced myself waiting for the impact.

"You really shouldn't believe rumours, Bella. While normally, I don't feed into the propaganda, I'll clarify things for you just this once. I'm neither a professional nor do I have sponsors." I tried to stutter an apology for assuming what I had been told was fact but something told me to let it go. I nodded my head in understanding, hoping I didn't ruin my chances to learn from him. Jasper seemed to be of the same mind, "Now, can we get started or is there something else you'd like to discuss?"

His harsh brush-off was to be expected and I felt bad for getting our first session off to a bad start. He'd offered his honest opinion of my skills and all I managed to do was prove to be an ass with my assumptions. I wouldn't make that same mistake twice.

"If you're still willing to help me with fighting against a southpaw, I'd really appreciate it, Jasper." I said, using his name in the hopes of smoothing things over. When he had said my name, even though it was said in anger it lessened the blow some and I wanted more than anything for it to have the same effect on him.

"Of course, let's get started. We've already wasted ten minutes standing around like a couple of neighbourhood gossips," his face relaxed minutely. However, his tone left no room for discussion; The Major had taken control of things now and I was a willing member of his army. My stomach did a flip of excitement at this new side of Jasper. I was certain I'd weather the storm just fine because once I committed myself during a training session determination and perseverance were the only two things I knew and I wasn't willing to give him a reason to back out on me now that he had committed to helping me.

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Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, and alerting my little story!

I have yet to start writing Chapter 6, sadness, I know. But I have a very good reason for the delay, I've signed up to be an author for the Fandom for Preemies Fundraiser and was busy writing the one shot I plan to submit for that. Please check the my profile for the link on how to get **over 100 **different one shots, side shots and original stories. I toyed with the idea of submitting a Golden Gloves Jasper POV for the compliation but decided it was too soon to share all of his secrets just yet. Besides, he already let slip some info in this chapter without my permission! Plus, it's hard to say no to Jasper when he's determined to get something he wants.

For anyone interested, here is the summary for Fandom for Peemies One Shot with the working title; **The Silent Watcher: **She watched him silently for two years...and when she finally decided to take a chance, would it be too late?

Of course it's centered on my favourite paring, Bella and Jasper. It's quite different from Golden Gloves but the couple of pre-readers I've sent it to have told me they loved it!

Hopefully I won't keep you waiting too long for the next chapter!

~Christie.


	6. Breaking Habits and Keeping Traditions

Firstly, yes, I did change my penname...cusher has made way to the more fantastical TheFaintHeart. Sorry if there was any confusion when you received your alert. Next, I have a link to my blog on my profile where I've put up a few fic related pics and stuff. So if you are interested in what Jasper's bike and helmet look like, hit up the blog. I'll also be putting up a couple of things from this chapter as well once it's posted.

Oh! I also have a new banner for Golden Gloves made by duskri123 - the link for that is also on my profile and blog- it's awesome!

I do not own Twilight or the Coheed & Cambria songs I mention or the ridiculous movie Snakes on a Plane.

I do suggest you check out this link if you are unfamiliar with Samuel L. Jackson's famous line. It'll be worth it, promise. www . youtube . com / watch ?v=amYzBQMT4VI

My beta has been busy doing exciting things, so until her life slows down and she has moved into her new house, the next few chapters won't have her Midas Touch.

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Chapter 6: Breaking Habits and Keeping Traditions

"You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone." ~ Sugar Ray Robinson

Training with Jasper was unlike anything I'd done before. I felt like I was fifteen again and it was the first time I stepped into the ring. It was disorienting and left me feeling vulnerable for the first time since joining Jimmy's club. I hated it. I'd never been in the position of needing help; I was usually the helper.

Jasper was different than any of the other guys I had sparred with previously. Where the others usually held back the force of their attack, Jasper didn't. When we first stepped into the ring, he explained the basics of what to look for and how I'd have to adjust my position when fighting against a southpaw. Admittedly, it wasn't much of a change but I struggled to wrap my brain around maintaining it and found my body naturally reverted back to what it was used to. Jasper mistook my body's malfunction for rebellion and made me suffer for it.

"Get up, we're doing it again." Jasper barked at me as I pulled myself up after he managed to knock me over for the fifth time.

"Yes, Drill Sergeant," I mumbled.

"You say something?"

"Not a thing," I lied. My patience was wearing thin and I didn't want my hot-headed nature to cause a problem before I could accomplish the simple task of not getting my ass knocked down.

"Ready?"

Jasper stood tall with his gloved hands in front, protecting his face, he didn't bother wearing any protective head gear. Not like it mattered anyway, I was too busy falling to get a chance to swing at him. I nodded at him after adjusting my footing and hands; preparing for his attack. His motions were fluid and slow, giving me time to prepare a block for his left hook. All the time in the world couldn't have helped me. He connected and I stumbled backward until I was resting against the ropes. I let out a growl in frustration.

"You're thinking too hard. Again."

He was relentless, never letting me pause for a break or giving me any time to calm myself. It was almost like he wanted me angry; I just didn't understand what purpose it would serve.

He didn't wait for me to set up as he tried a different tactic; quickly rushing at me. I had no time to think or assess the situation. Ducking was my only option unless I wanted another encounter with the mat. His left hand swung at me and I dropped my right shoulder and bobbed around his moving fist. Smiling at my victory, and waiting for him to praise me for finally doing something right, I didn't see his return right jab, but I most certainly felt as his glove connected with my jaw.

I lost my footing from the blow and again fell into the ropes. This was quickly becoming old.

"Again" Jasper demanded.

"No. I need a break." I yelled back around my mouth guard.

"I said, again. Now get up," his quick dismissal of my request caused my anger to flare higher than before and I could no longer contain it. I glared at him, trying in vain to burn him with my eyes.

He came toward me with three quick steps, swinging at my head. I ducked again and spun around him; learning from my previous mistake. He turned around to face me smirking as he threw out another punch, giving my face a break and aiming for my body. I stepped back out of reach, giving myself enough time to be pissed off that he would employ the smirk while we were sparring. I was now furious. He was toying with me. I was his marionette. He had watched me before and knew the way I fought and how I would naturally react. It was time to cut the strings.

The only way to get him to back off would be if I stopped thinking and let my body take over. A vicious smile spread across my face showing off the white fang design on my black mouth guard. His eyes narrowed at my change in attitude, but it didn't deter him from coming at me again. This time, however, I was prepared. My fight or flight instinct quickly took over. I side-stepped another swing and decided I'd had enough of learning to block. I wanted to hit something. Hard. I would get a lot of satisfaction from hitting Jasper. My vision tunnelled and all I saw was blonde hair slowly falling out of its ponytail, a body clothed in black and bright blue gloves; all else fading away and no longer important.

I let him take another swing and ducked under his arm. He was too tall for me to comfortably reach his jaw, a body shot would have to suffice. His left arm was just returning to guard position when I pulled back my right fist and swung with as much power as I could, connecting with his left rib cage. I quickly followed up with a matching right-sided hit.

Jasper let out an "oomph" sound as the air rushed out of his lungs and stumbled back; he hadn't anticipated my attack. It felt so good to finally connect with something and I wanted to hit him again. Intent on doing just that, I followed as he stepped back and watched as he bent over gasping for air, left arm clutching around his torso. His new position gave me a better opening at his pretty face. I pulled back my right hand wanting to permanently remove his ability for future smirking.

Sensing danger, Jasper's head shot up, quickly making eye contact. It was his penetrating grey eyes that stopped me; breaking the aggressive haze I had been lost in. My feet planted firmly to the mat and my hand fell to my side.

I was frozen, my eyes wide in astonishment.

I wouldn't allow my body to move. Fear suddenly filled my body. _What have I done? _I had maliciously attacked my partner with an anger so raw I was lost to its power. Surely this would be grounds for him to tell me to fuck off and not come back.

Jasper's reaction was not what I expected. Once he stood at his full height, a look of satisfaction and lazy smile filled his face. I didn't say anything, not wanting to further provoke him.

"I think we're done for today."

"What!" I questioned, spitting out my mouth guard so I could talk properly.

"We're finished." He couldn't possibly mean permanently, could he?

"We can't be finished! You said you would help me. I'm sorry I hit you. Can we try again with the blocking, please?" I begged.

"Look Bella, I accomplished what I set to achieve today. And quite frankly, you knocked the wind out of me. You can't expect me to continue after that."

"So, that's it? One training session and you quit on me?" I asked, my voice dropping as I quietly muttered, "unfuckingbelievable," to myself. That was how it always went, being too aggressive meant bruised male egos and a quick excuse to no longer train together. Emmett was the only one in the club who was impervious to it which was why we always partnered during these sessions. I didn't know why Jimmy thought Jasper would be any different from the rest of the chauvinist club members.

"Quit on you? Did you hear those words come out of my mouth because I don't remember saying them," Jasper looked at me confusion covered his face.

"You said we were finished, I thought you meant-"

"Didn't you ever hear that saying about asses who assume things? When I said finished, I meant for today. We are finished for today." Jasper interrupted me with his explanation. "My only goal for today was to break your habit of over-thinking and analysing. To get you to just go with your gut. I thought for sure it wasn't going to happen today but you proved me wrong."

I didn't know what to say. He was testing me; he wanted me to lose my composure. He wanted me to feel my next move instead of planning it. He had expected me to fail, but I didn't.

"So, you'll still keep helping me then?" I needed to hear it directly from him. I wouldn't make the mistake of assuming anything else when it came to Jasper.

"Of course, we're only just beginning your re-programming," he said over his shoulder as he stepped though the ropes and jumped down to the mats below.

"Oh. Well, OK then." I hadn't expected this reaction from him. It would seem we were both surprising each other. "So, anything I should be working on until next club session?" I asked as I followed behind him, through the ropes and jumping down.

"That's two weeks away, if you are serious about learning, we can't wait that long in between. When do you normally come in during the week to train?"

"I'm here in the mornings because I work in the afternoons, why?"

"We should try to fit in at least three sparring sessions a week, is that alright with you?"

"That's fine, starting Monday?" I would definitely need all day tomorrow to ice my ass, I could feel the swelling beginning already.

"Works for me, I'll be here at 8:30am."

I watched as Jasper walked away, heading toward the change rooms. While he was pulling off his gloves I gave myself eight seconds to quickly take inventory of his retreating form. During those eight seconds, I managed to notice something I hadn't noticed earlier. Yes, his ass was spectacular but more importantly, Jasper was one of the few guys in the local boxing circuit that didn't have any visible tattoos. I was slightly disappointed by this. I had quite the affinity for guys with black ink etched on their body.

But then again, Jasper seemed to be doing the opposite of everything I had expected of him. So I shouldn't have been so surprised that a Harley-driving-leather-coat-wearing-bad-ass-boxer didn't have any tattoos-that I could see. But there was still a possibility that some inky treasures lie hidden under his clothes.

Jasper, without clothes-now there was an idea. Unfortunately, I couldn't allow my imagination to run wild, it had already worked overtime this week. Now was not the time or the place for any type of fantasies to be running amok in my mind while I was in the presence of other human beings. Especially when one was my best friend who knew me better than anyone else and wasn't afraid to call me out. The fact that Jasper was still in close proximity was also a great reason to squash any runaway dirty thoughts.

After showering and changing back into my regular clothes, I returned to the training area to wait for Emmett. It was tradition that anyone who was available went for brunch after team sessions. I was quite hungry since I still didn't trust the apple Jasper had given me enough to eat.

It was the abrupt stop of one song and the start of Coheed & Cambria's 'Far' that reminded me I had left my iPod plugged in. As I made my way to retrieve it, I noticed it was Jasper who had decided to play DJ.

"You'll learn very quickly not to touch something that doesn't belong to you," I called to Jasper. He startled a bit and quickly turned around, a slight flush filled his cheeks.

"Is this yours?" He asked as he motioned to the iPod and nervously running his hand through his hair now that he had taken it out of the ponytail.

"I wouldn't be possessive over something that wasn't mine," I replied, realizing a little too late how much I wished I was talking about Jasper and not some music device. He merely twitched an eyebrow at me. "Yes, it's mine," I finished.

"Well, I'm sorry for snooping, but I just wanted to see what else was on this play list. I noticed it during our sparring. I love Coheed. You seem to have their entire collection."

I couldn't believe my ears; Jasper loved the same band I loved. _Was this some sick cosmic joke? _Why did he have to be practically perfect for me, yet there was nothing I could do about it. He hadn't given me any indication he was at all interested. Not to mention I didn't want to give him any sort of reason to feel uncomfortable around me especially if we'd be training multiple times a week. I was sure he had plenty of other girls throwing themselves at him and I didn't want to be included in that list.

"I always have music playing when I train. Although, I didn't get to enjoy it as much as normal today. I was too busy peeling my ass of the mat." I joked.

"Don't blame that on me. I was taking it easy on you."

"Yeah, I know. I wasn't my best today, that's for sure. Did you notice I have 'The Penelope EP' from when Coheed was called Shabutie?" I asked to take Jasper's attention off my pathetic training session and I crossed over to the iPod to scroll through and show him the album.

"I didn't get that far through the list before you threatened me for touching something that wasn't mine," he chuckled back at my excitement. "But I do love this song." I nodded as we listened to Claudio finish singing the last repeat of 'No matter how far'.

I was about to remove the iPod but stopped as I heard a strumming acoustic guitar begin an all too familiar song. 'Wake Up' - I couldn't count how many times I had listened to it. I had plans for that song, as girly as it sounded.

It was a beautiful love song in a sense; but spoke of separating lovers, with promises of a return and what one wouldn't do for the other and how far they would be willing to go for that love. While some may find a declaration of killing for another morbid, I longed for that all encompassing love and willingness to do anything for another. I sighed.

"Wow, I thought I was the only one who watched 'Snakes on a Plane'." Jasper mussed.

"Oh, no. I did not watch that freak-fest. Nuh-uh. Em did, and then told me there was an acoustic version of 'Wake Up' on the soundtrack, which I promptly downloaded." I corrected.

"Not a fan of Samuel L?" He joked.

"Please, I love that guy. It's the _Mother fuckin' snakes on the mother fuckin' plane _I don't like," I attempted to replicate the distinct cadence of Samuel L. Jackson's voice. Jasper's loud laugh led me to believe I didn't do a very good job at the impersonation. "Yeah, I'm not very good at impersonations…" I offered, feeling lame.

"Oh, no…you did a fairly good…it was…just hearing the words _mother fuckin'_ out of your mouth that had me laughing so hard."

"Cricket, tell me you didn't just embarrass yourself by doing an impersonation? You know you're terrible at that." Emmett called out as he was walking to where we were standing.

"Shut it, Goliath," I called back. Emmett barked out another laugh at my expense. My face was starting to warm. I turned to shut the music off, fiddling with it to give myself a moment to help my pink cheeks return to my normal paleness. I wanted to kick own ass for doing something so asinine in front of Jasper. What was with my brain's inability to function at full capacity when around him?

"So, you coming for brunch?" I heard Emmett ask Jasper while I busied myself with tuning off the sound system.

"Brunch?"

"Yeah, it's a tradition around here. After each group session, everyone-whoever doesn't already have plans, meets up at the Blue Star Café for brunch. You in?"

"Everyone does this?"

"Sure, it's like a bonding thing. A tradition of sorts. You see we have this small competition…"

"What Emmett means is, he and the guys see how many pancakes they can stuff into their pie holes. It's not pretty." I finished for Emmett as I put my iPod into my purse.

"Sounds fun. Who holds the record?" Jasper asked while looking back and forth between Emmett and I.

"Who do you think? This man beast here does." I answered while jabbing my index finger into Emmett's stomach.

"You'll pay for that," Emmett threatened as he grabbed my hand. "And you'll have to eat a baker's dozen to beat me. That's if you're up for the challenge, Jasper"

"Sounds interesting. What's your record, Bella?"

"Bella's too good for such cavemen-ish type behaviour, isn't that right?" He joked as he pulled me under his arm and ruffled my hair.

"Em, if you are going to mock me, at least use the right words; it's cavemen-esque," I swatted at his stomach again and freeing myself from his clutches. "But, to clarify-no, I don't participate in that nonsense. I'm the referee. It was deemed necessary after Paul and Tyler tried to cheat their way to victory. I have final say who the winner is each week."

"Sounds like I don't really have a choice, do I?" Jasper asked.

"Not really, I was only being nice by pretending to ask," Emmett confirmed Jasper's suspicions. By the time Emmett had Jasper agreeing to join the eat-off, the rest of the guys had emerged from the change rooms and were waiting by the door, ready to leave.

"Don't forget weigh-in is Wednesday," Jimmy called from his office as we left through the front door.

"Jimmy doesn't join?" Jasper asked as we walked around to the side parking lot.

"Nah, he did a couple of times when we first started going to the Blue Star, but now he just stays at the gym with Vicky," Emmett answered. "Come on, Cricket. Let's get a move on, I want a spot at the end of the table, more elbow room," he called as he shouldered my gym bag, tossing it into the back of his Rubicon and climbing into the driver's seat.

"We'll see you there, then?" I asked Jasper as he was zipping up his leather jacket, pushing his hair out of his eyes and pulled his helmet down, fastening the straps under his chin.

"You bet. It's been a while since I was in an eating competition. I don't even care if I win. I'm going simply to watch a grown man eat 12 pancakes," he laughed. I smiled in return

Emmett's impatience got the better of him as he honked his horn at me. I rolled my eyes in exasperation as I walked back and climbed into the Jeep, watching as Jasper drove out of the parking lot.

When we arrived at the café, Emmett parked beside Jasper's Harley. He had already pulled his helmet off and waited for us while we got out of the Jeep. Paul and Tyler had arrived at the same time but had parked a bit further away.

"Hurry your asses up, I'm getting hungry!" Emmett yelled as they took their time walking through the lot. "We'll be here until next Sunday if we wait for those old ladies. Let's go grab a table." I smiled at Jasper as he laughed at Emmett's eagerness.

The staff at Blue Star was familiar enough with our tradition that they usually had a large table reserved for us by the windows. I never exactly understood why they thought it was a good idea to put a bunch of guys cramming their faces with pancakes in the window. It was the makings of a side-show or maybe even a strange advertising strategy. All that was missing was the "Photos for $5" sign. I snickered at the thought of Emmett and the boys posing for pictures with random people complete with half masticated rounds of fluffy goodness hanging from their mouths.

"Hey guys!" Tanya, our usual waitress greeted as we walked in. She was so accustomed to serving us, she didn't even bother with the charade of bringing menus and waiting to see what we wanted. She motioned to our table by the window and practically skipped to the kitchen to put the order in and grab our drinks.

Tanya was a nice enough girl, if you saw past her incessant flirting with the boys. They enjoyed her attention so I never really gave it a second thought. I briefly wondered how she would react to Jasper. I knew she was relatively harmless but it would be Jasper's reaction to Tanya that would give me an indication of the type of person he was outside of the ring. Would he be polite and indifferent? Would he like the attention and flirt back? Would he react to her the same way he had reacted to me when we were introduced?

Emmett pushed me aside just as I was about to sit down. "What the hell, Em?"

"I told you, I wanted to sit at the end of the table. Besides, you need to be in the middle to keep and eye on those two Cheating Carols over there," he said while pointing at Tyler and Paul as they laughed and sat down at the opposite end of the long table. I rolled my eyes and sat in the middle of the table opposite to where Jasper was just draping his jacket on the back of his chair.

Seth and Brady had arrived and pulled out the chairs on either side of Jasper. They were twins and three months out of high school. Both had boxed with Jimmy before but had only recently started training with the core group of amateur fighters.

Jasper had set his helmet on the table in front of him since all the chairs on his side of the table were full.

"Pass me your helmet, Jasper. It'll be safer over here. Things tend to get a bit messy once the eating starts." I didn't wait for his response before reaching across the table, grabbing his helmet being careful not to get fingerprints on the shiny black surface and placed it in chair to my left.

"Oh, thanks." I nodded and smiled at him.

"Would you like a run-down of the rules before the pancakes get here?" I asked, laughing lightly at his slightly suspicious nod. Clearly, he didn't think it would be such a serious event. "Alright… Hey, listen up," I spoke a little louder to the rest of our group. "You all could use a refresher, so pay attention. The objective is to eat as many pancakes as you can. We stop after an hour or when everyone has forfeited by pushing their plate away from themselves. No pushing anyone else's plate. You can use as much syrup as you'd like. You can also drink as much as you'd like while eating. No elbow bumping or attempts to distract the person next to you. One pancake on your plate at a time and you cannot put another one on until I've given you the OK. I'll mark down how may you've eaten. Emmett holds the record for twelve pancakes. Any questions?"

"That doesn't sound so hard. Eat a pancake, show you my plate, rinse and repeat. Got it," Jasper replied.

"Almost. You see, the cooks in the kitchen like to have a bit of fun with the guys so they make special pancakes. You have to eat what they bring. If you don't like one of the toppings and don't want to eat it, you're out."

"Fair enough," he nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget the most important rule of all, Bella," Emmett reminded me, "the first one out pays."

"Wow, you really take this seriously, don't you?" Jasper asked as Emmett tucked his napkin into the collar of his shirt.

"We do. Just a reminder, my decision is final. If I see you breaking any of the rules or if you can't stay in your own plate, you're out. Just ask Seth how much it sucked to have to foot the bill when he forked Brady's pancake right out of his plate because he didn't want to eat the shrimp pancakes." I finished with a laugh.

"Hey, it was totally worth being disqualified. Shrimp should not be a topping on pancakes," Seth defended.

"So does that mean you get a free brunch every week then?" Jasper asked me.

"No, I pay for the tip. Things tend to get messy and we want to keep the staff here happy and allow us to keep coming each week." I explained as Tanya returned with our drinks.

She placed chocolate milk in front of Paul and Tyler, orange juice in front of Seth and Emmett and apple juice in front of Brady and myself. She then noticed our extra member and a smile spread across her face. I could have sworn I heard her say 'fresh meat' before clearing her throat.

"Sorry, I didn't realize there was a new member. What can I get you to drink? Something sweet perhaps?" Tanya's innuendo was left hanging as Jasper looked at my glass and smiled.

"I'll have what Bella's having, thanks," he dismissed, but then offered a polite smile, almost as an afterthought.

A strange silence fell over the table as Tanya walked away with a little less bounce in her step. I was slightly smug at Jasper's brush-off but could tell the others were surprised at his reaction to her. I rifled through my purse to pull out my Mickey Mouse note pad and matching pen; it lit up when you pressed the tip to the paper. I felt slightly embarrassed to have to use it in front of Jasper but it always got a great reaction from Emmett which was why I kept them.

"Jesus Bella, why do you insist on using that shit every week?" Emmett complained while everyone minus Jasper laughed at him. He always said the same thing when I pulled them out.

"Because I love the reaction you give me. What's wrong, Em? You feeling a little emasculated?" I shot back causing the others to laugh louder.

"What's the big deal about Mickey Mouse?" Jasper asked.

"Emmett has a problem with a male cartoon character having such a high voice."

"It's un-natural!" Emmett corrected.

"Whatever, Emmett. Jasper, you should have seen him when we were kids. Our families went to Disneyland during summer vacation one year. I think we were eight years old and we waited in line for over an hour to get a picture with Mickey Mouse. When it was our turn, my big, strong best friend here wouldn't go up with me. He started to cry. Papa M had to carry him and held him down for the picture. I still have it! I'm smiling and Emmett's dad has a vice grip on his shoulders keeping him in place while he cried. It's one of my most vivid memories." I laughed at Emmett as he shuddered at the memory.

"Since we're taking a trip down memory lane, perhaps I should share the story of Milkywhite?" Emmett teased.

"Milkywhite, wasn't that the name of the cow from 'Jack and the Beanstalk'?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, it was. It was also the name of a cow Bella killed when we were sixteen." Emmett laughed.

"It was not!" I defended.

"Then tell me why you no longer eat beef?" he prompted.

"Fine, I'll tell the story," I looked around the table at the smiling faces, "but only this once!" I took a deep breath and looked up, Jasper gave a gentle smile and I started, "Em and I were driving home from a boxing meet one Saturday evening. Both of our parents were busy and we wanted to be cool and go on our own. I had just gotten my licence and was driving my new-old-truck that my dad had bought for me as a gift. It was a beast, a Chevy, and painted red. Anyways, the sun was on the edge of the horizon. There was a bend in the road and I was following it but once I made it through the turn, the sun had temporarily blinded me and I couldn't see. So I started to slow down while Emmett searched in my purse for my sunglasses. That when it happened."

"It was great!" Emmett yelled excitedly.

"No, it was not great, you ass. I totalled my truck! I didn't see that a cow had gotten loose from the nearby pasture and hit it, straight on. She died instantly. Luckily Emmett and I only suffered minor injuries, but my truck took the majority of the beating." I finished.

"Wait, that's not the best part. Bella's dad is Chief of Police in Forks and he was on duty that night. He got called to the scene. So did the local butcher. We sat on the side of the road watching the butcher do his thing while the Chief did his reports and waited on a tow truck to take Bella's truck to impound. I might have mentioned that the cow Bella hit reminded me of the cow from Jack and the Beanstalk. Once all was done, Charlie drove us the rest of the way to Forks. We stopped at the local diner and had a pizza for supper." Emmett laughed.

"Sorry, but I fail to see how that's funny," Jasper stated.

"Ask me what my insensitive best friend and father had for toppings on the pizza?"

"Ok, I'll bite-sorry, bad choice of words. What did they order?"

"Hamburger."

Our table was quiet for a few moments and then everyone burst out laughing, so did a couple of the tables around us. Apparently Emmett was hard to ignore when he told a story. It could also have had something to do with his volume control.

"It's not funny. I had to sit through watching him and my dad share a large pizza with hamburger all over it, all the while picturing poor dead, Milkywhite in my head. I haven't been able to eat beef since." The peanut gallery roared even louder with laughter.

The laughing stopped when we noticed Tanya and another waitress carrying large trays in our direction. She set down Jasper's apple juice and placed an empty plate in front of each guy. She then set down my western omelette and fruit salad. Next were two large platters, one placed at each end of the table.

"The cooks are feeling nice for the first round, chocolate chip pancakes. I'll bring out the next platters in a couple of minutes. Good luck boys!" Tanya encouraged as she squeezed Jasper's shoulders and returned to the kitchen.

"Everyone can put one on their plate and the syrup if you want it," I began while pulling out my cell phone to check the time, placing it on the table. I quickly jotted down each guy's name and looked up to see everyone had their game face on. "Ready?"

After a chorus of agreement around the table and one last glance at the clock we were ready. "Begin," I announced.

Six sets of forks and knives hit glass plates, each participant choosing a different method to eat. Tanya quickly came over to the table to clear the empty platters and replace them with a fresh batch of the chocolate chip pancakes.

The restaurant had quieted down, the only sound was of cutlery as it touched the plate to pick up the next piece. Emmett was the first to finish his pancake and called out my name while tilting his plate to show he was ready for another.

"You're clear Emmett," I said as I marked a tick under his name with my Mickey Mouse pen. Paul and Tyler followed closely behind. As I marked my note book, Jasper called out he was ready for another. Looking at his plate I nodded to him and he forked another pancake pouring syrup over it while cutting it into pieces. Seth and Brady followed quickly behind Jasper.

It continued back and forth for the next two rounds, but Emmett still remained half a pancake ahead of the others. I ate bites of my omelette and fruit while watching for any funny business. The fifth batch of pancakes Tanya had brought out were no longer appetizing, to me at least. They were covered in hamburger. Tanya must have heard Emmett's recount of our cow-crash from before and suggested it to the cooks. I suddenly liked her again and forgave her of any previous wrong-doings.

Emmett was the first to notice the difference when I gave him the go ahead to go for his fifth round.

"Oh, come on!" He grumbled but it didn't deter him from slathering it with syrup. Laugher surrounded me and I joined in.

"Tanya, who's cooking back there?" I asked as my giggles died down.

"Mike is, he said you owe him," she replied with a smile.

"If he keeps up with the hamburger pancakes, tell him I'll give him that kiss he's been after," I joked and we started giggling again. Someone growled my name and I looked back to see Jasper with a scowl on his face. I guess he didn't like the idea of hamburger very much. His plate was clear of his chocolate chip cake and I gave permission for him to continue.

He slid one on his plate and poured the syrup on it. I watched in fascination as he shovelled a piece into his mouth, chewed for a few moments and then spit it out.

"Jasper, that's not how you are going to win this competition," I mock-chided.

His response was to push his plate out of the way. He had only made it to four pancakes and was already quitting.

"Remember, the first person out has to pay the bill, right?" He just shrugged his shoulders and drank half his apple juice in one gulp.

For some reason, Jasper quitting took the wind out of my sails. I had wanted him to do well and give Emmett a run for his money. I marked the subsequent empty plates with less enthusiasm while I picked at my meal.

Tyler and Brady dropped out at six pancakes each. Seth followed at seven. Emmett was still going strong at nine and Paul was right behind at eight. Tanya brought out the deal breaker for Paul, hamburger with pineapple. Emmett ate one just to prove he could. The competition finished with Emmett at ten pancakes. He celebrated by pushing out his chair, unbuttoning his jeans and letting out a loud burp.

"Emmett that is disgusting."

"Don't hate on me, baby! I'm the King of the Pancake Castle!" He bellowed. Those still watching cheered excitedly for him. Tanya and the other waitress had reappeared to clear the plates.

"Anything else I can get for you guys?" She asked with a bright smile.

"No, I think we're all done here for today, thank you," Emmett returned her smile.

She nodded then asked, "so, who gets the bill this time?" I rolled my eyes, because she already knew who lost, she hadn't stopped watching Jasper the entire time the boys were eating with the exception of when she had to refill the platters.

"That would be me," Jasper said, holding out his hand for the bill.

"Right, then this would be for you," she replied while smiling down at him, placing the bill in his hand and lingering for a little longer than I would consider acceptable.

Jasper looked at the bill, smirked and then placed it face down on the table and turned back to look at Emmett. He was now patting his stomach in a manor similar to what a pregnant woman would. It was a strange sight no matter how many times I had seen him do it after each win.

"So, what do I owe for the tip?" I asked while reaching across the table to look at the bill. Jasper tried to grab it back but wasn't fast enough. I looked at the bill, narrowing my eyes at the stupid smiley face and seven numbers beside Tanya's name.

"Don't worry about it, I'll get it this time," he replied, quickly snatching the paper from my hands and holding it tightly in his. I guess he liked Tanya after all. I must have misread his reaction to her when we first arrived.

"If you say so," I shot back and turned to Emmett, "ready to go Your Royal Highness?"

Emmett thumped his chest and another loud belch sounded. "Yes, I'm ready now. But you're going to have to drive, I think I may need to lie down. That last pancake was a doozy." He tossed me the keys as I packed up my notebook and cell phone. I pulled Jasper's helmet from the seat beside me and placed it on the table, sliding it closer to him.

"Alright, boys. After that display, I must say I'm happy it'll be two weeks before we do it again," I said as everyone stood up, gathering their belongings. Tanya reappeared at Jasper's side and asked him to follow her to the front to take care of the bill.

As we passed by the kitchen, Mike stepped through the door causing me to stop short. Emmett, still patting his bulging stomach, walked into me forcing me to fall into Mike's chest and waiting arms. He smiled down at me. He smelled of grease and sweat. His face was shiny from perspiration and a few strands of hair not held back by his hairnet were stuck to his forehead.

"Tanya tells me you wanted to kiss me." His smile grew big enough that I could see hunks of left-over food wedged between his yellow teeth.

"Uh, what?" I feigned ignorance, looking over my shoulder at Emmett shaking with laughter. He would be no help.

"Yeah, she said if I kept making the beef cakes you would kiss me. Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked as he held my arms tighter and bent his head down, lips puckered. I was freaking out. My face was frozen in horror at the thought of actually following through with my joke. Mike was inching closer and closer as I bent further back in attempt to free myself from his hot sweaty hands and the disgusting odour that perfumed around him.

"Uh, Bella, I changed my mind about that tip. Do you mind coming over the to register?" Jasper asked as he removed me from Mike's clutches. I allowed him to guide me by the elbow to the where Tanya stood clicking her nails on the chipping Formica countertop.

"Thank you," I whispered to him. He squeezed my arm before letting go and placed the bill on the counter. I grabbed my wallet and pulled out some cash, ready to hand it over. Jasper covered my hand with his and silently shook his head 'no' as he handed Tanya a credit card. I gave him a questioning look and tried to give him the money again. "Here, Jasper, just take the money."

"Keep your money, Bella." he replied as Tanya handed him the slip to sign. She took her copy and stapled his and the receipt with her number in bright red ink together and slid them across the counter. I watched as he returned the card to his wallet, picked his helmet up off the counter and turned around, again guiding me toward the front doors.

"Jasper, wait! Your forgot your receipt!" Tanya called out as he opened the door for our group. I waited for his response with a nervous anticipation.

"No I didn't," he called back as we walked outside followed by the other guys who had watched the entire interaction from start to finish.

"That was epic!" Seth barked out through his laugher as we walked toward the parking lot. "You should have seen your face, Bella. I though you were going to throw up!"

"I think I did a little but had to swallow it down," I shuddered. "Thanks for leaving me hanging, Jackass!" I said as I punched Emmett in the stomach.

"Shit, Bella. Do you _want_ me to throw up? Keep your hands off the mid-section. And there was no way I was going to save you after egging him on to keep the meat cakes coming, serves you right!" He chuckled with along with the rest of the guys. As they walked ahead to their vehicles.

"At least, Jasper was kind enough to save me from certain doom," I called out to their backs. "Thanks again," I smiled at him.

"No problem, Bella. I've got your back," he returned my smile. "You'd better get Emmett home and fast, he looks like he might need a bathroom soon," he chuckled while pointing to where Emmett was leaning against the Rubicon doing deep breathing exercises.

"Yeah, he needs one of those warning labels that say 'Contents Under Extreme Pressure'. I'll be sure to hit every bump on the road."

"You do that," Jasper laughed as he pulled his helmet on. "So I'll see you Monday, 8:30?"

"Monday," I replied with a smile and watched as he climbed on the bike and started it, revving the engine. "Come on my gluttonous friend, let's get you home," I laughed at Emmett as I climbed up into the Jeep and adjusting the seat so I could reach the peddles. I laughed even more when I saw that Emmett had actually reclined his seat and was laying down, clutching his stomach.

"Oh, man. Those pancakes are like a brick in my stomach," he moaned.

"Please, you should have plenty of room, you only had ten pancakes, your record is twelve!"

"Yeah, but those were plain pancakes not meat-laden ones. Get this car moving Bella, or you'll be sorry you have to ride with me."

That was enough to get me to drive us home as quickly as possible. I still managed to hit every bump on the way with a bright smile on my face.

* * *

So some progress for Bella in the ring and some bonding with the group for Jasper.

Oh, and the Cow-Crash is a true story, it happened to my cousin...poor dear still can't eat beef!

Thanks again to those who read, review, alert and fave!

Also, since the last chapter update, I've started beta-ing a story called "Someday" by the fantastic duskri123 (remember when I said someone made me a banner, she's the same person). It's a vamp J/B fic and she is steamrolling through the chapters. In fact, she's writing them faster than I can beta them! It's dark and twisty and our favorite Cullens are far from the Brady Bunch. Check it out and tell her I sent you!

~Christie


	7. The Not So Lazy Sunday

Twilight is still not mine. And this is still not beta'd, so please forgive any unsightly errors. If you see any, do let me know.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Not So Lazy Sunday

"Boxing gave me the opportunities to grow into the person that I am today." ~ Alexis Arguello

Sunday found me cursing Jasper and his tactical efforts to rid me of my bad habit of over-thinking. I was sore. More so than I could ever remember feeling in the last five years since moving to Seattle. My ass was tender to the touch and walking the flight of stairs that separated the bedrooms from the living room and kitchen was a painful endeavour.

As I eased my way down the stairs slower than Grandpa Swan after his hip replacement, I wanted to call Jasper and bitch at him for the suffering he caused me but I didn't have his number. That was probably a good thing. I didn't want him to laugh at me, or worse yet, feel apologetic for his methods, thus taking it easier on me when we would train the next day. I knew I wouldn't be going for my morning run today. I needed to rest and prepare myself for whatever Jasper had planned for our next session. The extent of rest and preparation involved my tender tushy, one couch, and a marathon session of The Big Bang Theory, all three seasons, only allowing breaks long enough for sustenance.

Opening the fridge to make breakfast, I realized I was going to have to be more creative than the guys on Iron Chef; there was slim pickings in the way of breakfast foods, or anything edible for that matter.

My options were not very appetizing to say the least; it was obvious I had been far too preoccupied in my Jasper-centric daydreams to remember to grocery shop at any point during the last week. I had a few lemons, two eggs, orange juice, a block of what could have been marble cheese-although the mould was making it difficult to be certain, a questionable jug of milk, some pathetic looking mystery meat, and at the bottom, Emmett's favourite beer surrounding my bottle of Cherry Whiskey and a brand new bottle of Kettle One Vodka tucked in the back waiting for a special occasion. Since I did not subscribe to the thought that somewhere it was 5pm, I closed the fridge, deciding toast was the safest option.

Turning to the bread box, I was even more disgruntled to see the lonely end bits of the loaf were all I had left for bread. I hated the end pieces, they were never full-sized and seeing as I wasn't normally fond of crust, those pathetic looking wannabe slices of bread were out of the question. I felt like a scavenging seagull, desperate to locate a single edible piece of food amongst a landfill of trash and waste. I was even willing to consider one of the meat pancakes from yesterday, hamburger be damned.

As I made my way to throw out the offensive crust-bread, there sitting on the counter, in all its plump, juicy, red glory was the apple Jasper had given me yesterday. The Pink Lady. I was still uncertain if Jasper had done anything to the piece of fruit. But I was also verging on desperate for something to eat to stave of the hunger pains until I could get to the grocery store.

I was being dramatic and I knew it. Surely Jasper didn't poison the apple. However, if he had, I hoped it wasn't too far off the Sleeping Beauty mark and he would be forced to kiss me awake. Highly unlikely. I was becoming delirious, channelling Disney cartoons and trying to apply them to my situation. That shit didn't happen in real life and I definitely wasn't in a fairy tale waiting for my happy ending.

After peeling off the sticker and washing it, I stared at the apple in a silent debate, quietly humming the stupid song to that stupid television commercial "Don't you put it in your mouth". I realized I was beyond help as I sang aloud, "you could get sick. Ick! Real quick. Ick!" I rolled my eyes at myself for being suspicious of a piece of fruit. Looking a potential coma or possible death in the eye, I bit the bullet and apple in one satisfying chomp.

My taste buds sang.

I may have moaned. Loudly.

I felt like Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Did that make Jasper my serpent? Hmmmm? I didn't give that train any time to speed down the tracks as I took another bite, losing myself in its tantalizing taste.

It was delicious. Crisp skin gave way to firm, juicy flesh with an explosion inside my mouth. And the taste? A perfect combination of sweet with a slight tartness at the end. Johnny Appleseed would be proud of this apple. Perhaps I was a little crazy. Perhaps I could blame my new-found obsession for Pink Lady apples on the fact that I was practically starving when I woke up, but I couldn't say for certain. What I could say for certain was that I would be picking up more Pink Ladies when I ventured to the grocery store. They were the first items on my list of things to get.

It was while I was grocery shopping that Emmett called demanding to know my whereabouts and not so subtly inviting himself over for supper. It was nothing new for us.

"So, what are you making us for supper?"

"Supper? Who said I had any plans on eating supper with you tonight, hmmm?" sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Of course you are eating supper with me just like you always do on Sunday nights."

"How come it's always me that cooks?"

"Cause you don't like Hungry-Man dinners," he chuckled.

"Right. Any requests, then?"

"Nah, whatever is fine."

"Alright, but it's not gonna be anything special. I've got a hot date later this afternoon-"

"Hot date?" Emmett interrupted me. "Man, did he not listen to a word I said?" he finished in a mumble to himself.

"'He' who, Emmett? I was talking about Sheldon and Leonard," I stated as I worked my way through the aisles filling my cart.

"I was talking about Whit-wait. Who are Sheldon and Leonard?" he asked sounding a little relieved.

"The Big Bang Theory, Em. Sheldon and Leonard are characters on a TV show. If you would've let me finish, we could have avoided this strange turn down Awkward Avenue. What's the big deal if I did have a date anyway?"

"Oh. Well, nothing's wrong with a date, I guess. I just don't really remember the last time you dated a guy, you know? If you wanted, I know a guy…" he trailed off. I needed to change the subject, my lack of social life was not the type of conversation I wanted to be having in the middle of the grocery store, or anywhere really. Emmett was like my brother; aside from the few guys he attempted to play matchmaker with, we didn't really talk about dating. Rather, he talked about dating but it was always his dating, never mine.

"Emmett, I date. And, you are not setting me up, I don't care what you say he looks like or what drives or how much money he has," I stated, knowing full well my last date was over six months ago and he had been the one to set it up. But it wasn't my fault Emmett's suggestions for appropriate male companionship couldn't hold my attention long enough to warrant a second date.

"Really? When was the last time you went out?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, it's my turn at the checkout. Come over whenever, I'll have supper ready for 5, OK?"

"Sure Bella, talk to ya later." I hung up, not bothering with my own goodbye. Emmett knew me well enough to know I wasn't mad at him, just annoyed.

I was confused by what had just happened. Emmett usually saved those types of conversations for when we were in a vehicle or some other confined space so I couldn't avoid him with my deflecting methods. But his reaction to the possibility of me having a date he didn't set up was a strange one. He usually had to bring up my lack of social life and all but bribe me to go out with him or get me to go on a double date with his latest conquest and some guy he knew. I didn't see the big deal. I was focused and worked hard, I didn't have time to spend getting to know some guy only to be disappointed when he turned out to be lacking. I didn't want to have to work for something that should come naturally. Nor did I want to have someone jealous by the amount of time I spent with the other guys at the gym or my closeness with Emmett. That issue had been a real bone of contention for a couple of guys, they didn't understand a person could have a best friend who was the opposite sex.

I suppose it didn't help things that I didn't really make time or put in much effort when it came to dating. The way I saw things, I was 25 and still young; if I happened upon someone interesting I'd see where things went. If not, there was plenty of time for dating after I made it to the Olympics.

Throughout my internal debate I had managed to unload my cart onto the conveyor belt, pay and had pushed the bagged groceries half way to my SUV before I forced myself to think about what I would be making for supper. Debating on whether or not I should have just picked up some Hungry-Man dinners for Emmett and let him make of it what he wanted.

Definitely not, those things left a terrible after smell in the house once cooked, along with the even more rancid, gaseous effect they seemed to have on Emmett. Chicken Parmesan was a much safer dinner option.

Because Emmett had a sixth sense for knowing when a meal would be ready regardless of the time I had planned to have it ready for, he arrived at my townhouse just as I was spooning the marinara sauce over the breaded chicken and adding the parmesan cheese.

"In the kitchen," I called as I placed the pan under the broiler and strained the pasta.

"Smells good, Cricket," Emmett said, standing next to me as the hot steam billowed up from the draining noodles.

"Thanks. As usual, your timing couldn't be better." I turned from the sink to check the chicken and pulled out the garlic toast. "Grab some drinks while I finish this up, OK?"

"Yeah, sure. Yeeeeooowch!"

I looked over to see Emmett doing a cross between the potty dance and the Hokey Pokey. He was currently shaking his right hand all about. I couldn't help the bubble of giggles that erupted.

"What the hell? You tried to sneak a noodle, didn't you?" my voice was anything but stern as I watched him try to soothe the burn.

"No!" he lied around the fingers her was desperately blowing on.

"You didn't? Then how did that noodle, right there by your foot, get there?" I gave him a knowing look before nudging him in the direction of the fridge. "Drinks, Em. I only gave you one simple task, try not to hurt yourself when you pop the top to your beer."

"Har, har." I knew he was only joking around by the half-dimpled smile I could make out as he ducked down to grab two beers. I quickly finished preparing our supper without further incident.

We carried our plates into the living room, sitting side by side on the floor squished on one side of the coffee table just like we used to do when we were younger. I turned on the next disc of Big Bang Theory from where I had left off earlier. We ate in relative silence as we watched the show. Emmett gave me until after I had taken our plates into the kitchen and brought him another beer before deciding he wanted to play twenty questions.

"So, how did you think your session with Jasper went yesterday?"

"It was alright, I guess. It's hard to tell at this point, since I don't really know him. He didn't hold back that's for sure."

"Yeah, I noticed your ass was getting reacquainted with the mat," he forced a smile at me as he took a long pull from his beer.

"Gah, I know. My ass still hurts. I don't remember the last time I fell that much."

"Oh, I remember a time when you and the ground were practically inseparable, but that was before you started boxing," he chuckled.

"That's exactly what I mean, it's been so long since I was that clumsy girl constantly tripping over a crack in the sidewalk and falling on her face. I mean, I get what he was trying to do, now. But at the time, I was pissed, Em. I nearly took his head off," I shook my head as the memory of Jasper's eyes meeting mine danced around my thoughts.

"Yeah, what made you stop? If that was me, you wouldn't have hesitated for a second before landing the shot."

"I don't know, really. It was like I was blinded by my rage toward him. He just kept knocking me down and didn't let up. Finally, when I managed to avoid more than one of his shots, I wanted to give him a taste of my annoyance and let my aggression loose. But…" I let my thought trail off, uncertain of what I wanted to say next and uncertain of whether I wanted to face the real reason why I had stopped my attack.

"But you didn't. That's what I didn't understand. Even Jimmy didn't know what got into you."

"Jimmy was watching us?"

"Of course, you're one of his favourites. Why wouldn't he watch your session with Jasper? At one point, we were all watching."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Emmett was watching me carefully as I mulled over his previous admission. I was usually so aware of what was going when we had the group sessions. But yesterday, my focus had been solely on keeping upright, everything else at the time was inconsequential. Was I losing my edge or was I simply changing perspectives? Was that also a part of Jasper's plan when he set out to break me of my strategic thought process? Or was it an unfortunate side-effect?

Jasper had created so many questions and left me without answers. However, there was one tid-bit he had revealed to me before we started sparring that I could get an answer on.

"Em, what do people call me?"

"Umm, they call you Bella?"

"No, not my name. I mean, you know how Jasper is The Major? Do people call me something that I don't know about?"

"Oh. Let me think." He was stalling for time, I could tell by the way he picked at the label on his beer.

"Come on, Em. Just tell me."

"Alright," he sighed and rubbed at his jaw. "Keep in mind, I've only heard it-I've never actually used the name. I know how you feel about them."

"I only hate names if people give them to themselves, especially if it's only being used as a scare tactic."

"Yeah. I wonder how Jasper got The Major?" Emmett wondered aloud.

"Good question, but you are getting off topic," I gave him a pointed look.

"Right. It's mostly the guys that call you it, but I've heard a few girls too. Especially the ones that you really lay into and beat senseless."

"Just tell me already," I huffed in annoyance.

"The Flying Swan."

"So it's true then? Why would they call me that?"

"What? You already knew?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you bother asking me?" Emmett looked at me, confusion written over his face.

"I didn't trust the source, but figured if I asked you, I would be able to tell if you were lying to me. But why do they call me that?"

"Think about it Bells. Aside from your fight with Lauren, you haven't lost a match in two years. And the girls in your weight class drop like flies when you fight them. You practically emulate Muhammad Ali's 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee'. Except they've used your last name for effect. You're quick, your feet never stop moving and you don't give anyone a chance to rest when you attack them. Do you get it now?"

"I think so. What do you think? I mean, do I fly around the ring like the others seem to think I do?"

"I think…I think this is one nick name the boxing community has gotten right. You attack your opponent with a finesse and grace that only a swan is capable of exuding. You dance around the ring sometimes with such speed it kind of does look like you are just hovering above the mat. So, yeah, I think you are The Flying Swan."

I didn't know what to say. I always considered myself the analyst of the two of us. It seemed Emmett did his fare share of watching me and assessing my style and kept his ears open, much like I did for him when he fought. I usually made sure to let Emmett know my thoughts or pointed out things I saw for him to work on. He hadn't told me anything.

"Why didn't you tell me I had this reputation?" I felt like he was withholding information. He left me out on a little island, marooned with nothing but my own opinions and no way back to the mainland.

"I know how you are Bella, you don't like the attention. You are in boxing for the rush and the excitement it gives you to pound on someone. Not for a popularity contest. Tell me, if you heard someone calling you that, would it have pissed you off? Definitely, and it would have only resulted in more attention when you lashed out."

He had a point. Emmett was my human shield. He protected me as long as I could remember, going all the way back to second grade when one of the other boys on the playground put bubble gum in my hair. He chased him down and made him say sorry and then made him confess to our teacher. Then wiped my tears as I cried at the idea of having to cut all my hair off. He even held my hand and told my mom what happened when I was too upset to speak for myself.

Emmett was still protecting me. However this time, I was needing protection from myself. I leaped of the couch and flung my arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"Thanks, Emmett. I understand why you didn't tell me." He kissed the side of my head and squeezed back.

"No problem, Cricket. I'm always watching out for you, even when you don't know it."

Somehow, I knew he wasn't just talking about our previous discussion. However, I was too tired to dig for any more information as I slid out of his arms and sat back in my seat on the couch.

"No more boxing talk, I want you to tell me about that hot blonde girl the tall geeky guy keeps insulting," he smiled as he pointed to the television still playing The Big Bang Theory DVD I had put on while we ate supper.

"Sure Emmett," I returned his smile as I got up to put in the first disc of season one so we could properly begin his education of geeky goodness.

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I know, no Jasper this chapter, I was sad about that too...but I assure you he will very much be in next chapter. Tell me what you think.

Oh, the commercial Bella was singing is a Canadian commercial but you can find it on youtube it you aren't familiar with it. It's quite annoying and entertaining at the same time.

Thanks for reading and thanks to those who review and all of you who have this story on alert and fave...I adore you all!

**One last thing, donations are now being accepted for the Fandom for Preemies fundraiser. I've contributed a oneshot for it and have seen the pdf file, there is over 1200 pages of fantastic reading from 100+ authors. $5 is all it takes for the pdf to be yours! Please see my profile for the link to the Fandom for Preemies blog and how you can donate to the March of Dimes.**

~TheFaintHeart


	8. Just Another Day At The Office

Not mine. Not beta'ed

If anyone was interested, I wrote a oneshot for the **Many Faces of Jasper Contest **being held by the Darlins. It's on my profile titled **Ringside Revelations**. It's a side-shot of this story told from Jasper's perspective. It tells how Jasper got into boxing and how he got his nickname. I'm sure those of you who wondered about that might be interested to read.

I've also got the link to the Darlins blog if you feel so inclined to vote for any of the fantastic stories. Voting Runs until Dec 6.

This will be my last update for a while as I am leaving tomorrow for a two week vacation. I won't have access to the interwebs nor do I have a laptop to bring to work on the story...but I will try to get something posed in between the Christmas and New Year break!

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Chapter 8: Just Another Day At The Office

"Attack is only one half of the art of boxing." ~ Georges Carpentier

Because I'm a keener and wanted to get the upper hand, I was at the gym an hour before Jasper and I had agreed to meet. I wanted to show my commitment and confirm how serious I was to following whatever plan he had concocted. I may have also wanted to watch him as he arrived.

Normally I would have gotten my cardio by running to the gym. However, I was fairly certain today would be as difficult as Saturday's session so I drove with plans to get my usual run in on the machines while I waited for Jasper to strut through the front door. By eight o'clock I'd ran five miles and Jasper still hadn't shown up. I was beginning to get anxious and slightly panicky that he might have changed his mind or forgot. I assuaged my worries with a reminder that we _had_ agreed on half past eight not eight; he still had another thirty minutes to show up.

After wiping down the treadmill and drinking a large portion of my water I decided the only way to calm my worries was to get in some yoga. I usually reserved it for a quick stretch before a session but with the way I was second guessing things I needed to clear my mind and yoga was the best way for me to achieve it.

I made my way to change the play list on my iPod that was playing through the club's speakers. I was the only one in the gym aside from Jimmy and he never really said anything about my musical selections so I knew he wouldn't care what I put on as long as it wasn't that "rap-crap" as he liked to call it. Scrolling through, I found one of the play lists I used for my yoga classes; string quartet covers of all my favourite rock songs which included a large amount of Coheed and Cambria songs. I tried to tell myself that I picked that particular play list because I liked it and not because Jasper had said he liked the band as much a I.

_Hey, Pinocchio, how's that long nose treating you? _

Sighing and rolling my eyes at myself for yet another internal debate about Jasper, I began stretching and deep breathing in attempt to stop any further thoughts. As I slowly allowed everything around me to slip away, I closed my eyes and focused on the music and my movement from one position to the next. I was completely unaware of anything around me, forgetting that I was waiting for Jasper to arrive. After a while I began to feel relaxed and calm as any concerns regarding Jasper's imminent arrival slid away like my favourite Teflon frying pan.

Somewhere across the room, I heard what I thought was someone coughing but figured it was just Jimmy and didn't bother to open my eyes to check for certain.

That was the problem with yoga sometimes, when letting it take over, it was near impossible to break me out of my focus unless I was startled, or of course if I was interrupted by Jimmy's annoying cough, yet again. The guy needed to get a glass of water or Halls or something, he was beginning to sound like an emphysema patient.

I let a long breath out of my nose in irritation. When Jimmy coughed for what I was certain was the fourth, maybe fifth time, only slightly louder, I allowed a quiet growl out and was thinking of offering to get him something to help with his throat, even if it did mean I'd have to push back my session with Jasper. A few moments of quiet passed and I figured he was fine and tried to return to my meditation. I wasn't so lucky however, because his next throat-based noise was much closer and sounded suspiciously like he was trying to get my attention.

Furrowing my brow and sighing in defeat I asked, "Jimmy, do you want me to call Carlisle about that throat for you?"

"That won't be necessary," a voice answered. A voice that I _knew_ wasn't Jimmy's. Shit. Opening my eyes confirmed my suspicions as I saw Jasper standing a few feet away, looking down at me with a smirk. How did I not hear him when he arrived? I had been listening for the click the door makes when it closes. I didn't hear the click._ Why didn't I hear the damn click?_ Maybe Jasper was part ninja and was trained in stealth; it would definitely explain his ability to sneak up on me. Maybe I was part crazy and just needed to get my hearing checked.

"You sure about that, Jasper? Sounds like you're catching something," I retorted raising a well practiced eyebrow in response to his smirk. Surprise covered his face and his lips twitched, then relaxed into a natural line. _Take that, smirky-lips, my eyebrows have more power; I have variety on my side where as you are a one trick pony. _

I must have looked smug because suddenly he laughed at my sarcasm as he ran his hands through his hair, gathering it and wrapping an elastic around the strands. I watched as his biceps flexed with his movements. He was dressed similarly to what he wore on Saturday, black boots and shorts, this time paired with a deep blue wife beater, it was well worn and slightly frayed around the collar. I realized I had been staring long enough when I noticed the steel of his eyes really stood out next to the blue of his shirt. Jasper cleared his throat again, breaking me of my obvious physical assessment.

"You ready to get started?"

"Of course, let me just shut off the music." I stood up, ready to do just that when Jasper shook his head at me and walked toward the speed bags.

"Leave the music, I like it. Who is it? I mean I recognize that it's a cover of Coheed but not who."

I smiled in spite of myself as I followed behind. "The Vitamin String Quartet, they cover a lot of different bands." Jasper nodded his head at my answer.

He stopped in front of the long row of teardrop-shaped brown bags and looked over at me with a smile. The smile grew a little larger albeit slightly lopsided when he looked down at my bare hands. I _had_ tried to get my hand wraps on before I started my warm-up, but again failed miserably and had planned on asking Jimmy once I saw Jasper arrive. Obviously, that plan didn't go so well.

"Where are your hand wraps?" he asked.

"Over by the mat, I'll just go ask Jimmy to help me put them on. I'll be right back."

"No need to, Bella. Just bring them over here, I'll help you with them," he called as I quickly returned to my mat and grabbed my water bottle at the same time. As much as I wanted to feel his hands on me again, I was fearful he'd be able to see the desire written across my body once he did. I liked his touch far too much for my own good. He was here to help my boxing skills not fuel my desires and give me fantasizing material.

I didn't say anything as I handed over the light blue strips of cloth. I had chosen powder blue shorts and tank top today and had a pair of hand wraps that matched exactly which was why I wasn't using the same black ones as before. Even if it wasn't for a boxing match, I was still superstitious and liked to have everything the same color, including hand wraps if I had them. Emmett had taken to buying them in various colors any time social etiquette dictated he give me a gift. It would be funny if I wasn't so obsessed with keeping my routine the same.

"So how often would you say you use the speed bags?" Jasper asked as he unfolded my hand wraps and pointed to my left hand indicating for me to hold it out for him.

"Probably a couple of times a week, they are not my favourite, I have to admit."

"Really, why?" he asked, eyes darting up to my face and then back to my hand as he continued to pull and tighten the fabric between my fingers.

"Well, I guess that would be Emmett's fault, really," I said with a small smile and a quiet laugh.

"Oh?" He had finished with my left hand and looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I shook my head at him. There was NO way I was going to tell him how I managed to give myself two black eyes the first time Emmett put me in front of the bag after his simplistic instructions of _'Just hit it, Bella'_.

"Let's just say, that's another story for another time. Em still bugs me about it, even if it was his fault," I mumbled the last part to myself.

"I can understand that. It's not like we're friends, right?" there was a sudden stiffness to his voice, I didn't like it. It reminded me of when we were first introduced, I thought we were past that brush-off nonsence. Not to mention I felt my heart sink into my boots at his conclusion of us not being friends. Was he still angry at me for the pancakes? Had someone said something to him? Had I said something to provoke his sudden mood swing? Maybe he didn't even want to help me and was only doing this as a favour to Jimmy. I felt self-conscious and tried to grab my other hand wrap from Jasper as he looked at me with a blank expression. That was worse than the smirk, at least with the smirk his eyes had a spark of challenge in them; now they were hard and sparkless. I felt the need to give him a reprieve from his community service; I wouldn't keep him if he didn't want to be here.

"You're right. Let me have my other wrap and I'll put it on myself." I held out my right hand, palm up, looking at his chest waiting for him to place the cloth in my hand. Instead, I felt his warm calloused finger tip run across the skin of my wrist, fingering the faint lines and ink.

"What's this?" he asked, looking up at me but still holding on to my wrist.

"A tattoo?" I asked back, unsure if he was referring to the design or the tattoo itself.

"I know it's a tattoo, Bella," he replied, then continued his inspection of my wrist. "I meant, what is it of? That's white ink, right? It must be, it's so faint."

"Yeah, it's white ink. It's just a simple triangle with curled ends. It was the only option I could go with and still be able to hide it from my parents," I smiled and continued, "Em and I came up to Seattle on my eighteenth birthday and got tattoos together. It was a rebellious thing for us to do. I was scared shitless the entire drive home. I thought for sure Charlie would be able to tell what I had done the moment I walked back into the house. I was freaking out and paranoid."

"What did he think?"

"Well, we walked into the house and I went straight to the kitchen to make supper. Em sat on the couch and watched TV with my dad. During one of the commercial breaks, he lifted up his shirt sleeve and asked Charlie what he though of his tattoo of what he could see through the plastic that was still on. It was some tribal design all the guys were getting at the time. I tried to convince him to pick something else less trendy but he insisted it was what he wanted. In any event, Charlie said it looked good and that was it." Jasper smiled slightly at the story and looked back down at my wrist tracing the lines. I was hypnotized watching his finger move back and forth.

"So, what did he say about yours?"

I laughed at the memory. "I managed to hide it for a month, it had healed and I kind of forgot about it. Then, one day we were eating supper and Emmett was over, he asked me to pass him the ketchup. He was sitting across the table from me and Charlie was at the head of the table. As I was passing the bottle, I heard a fork drop. It was then that I realized my mistake. I had exposed my wrist in plain sight and Charlie saw it." Jasper chuckled lightly and I joined him for a moment, happily enjoying the easy atmosphere. "The best part was that he didn't even get mad, I was arguing with him that I was an adult and I had designed it and wanted it and paid for it with my own money. All he said was 'At least it's not some black barbed wire looking thing'," I said, imitating Charlie's gruff monotone voice. "But the best part was when Emmett figured out Charlie was talking about his tattoo, he said 'Chief, I thought you liked my tattoo, I'm hurt!'. Then he asked to see it closer and nodded his head like he was looking as my report card or something,"

"That's funny," Jasper said with a smile. I nodded in agreement. Then after one final touch to my tattoo, he turned my hand over and methodically wrapped my wrist. I didn't want to say anything to ruin Jasper's mood so I simply watched him. He had a slight furrow to his eyebrows as he concentrated on getting it tight enough yet not cutting off my circulation. When he was finished he let my hand fall to my side and raised his eyes to mine, a look of seriousness wiped away any remnants of the smile that had filled his face only minutes before.

"I want to see what you can do with this bag here. The faster you can get, the better reaction time you'll have in the ring, so it's important that you work at this for more than just a couple of times a week. Regardless of whether you like it or not."

I nodded my head and sighed in defeat. The Major had returned and wouldn't let me get away with anything less than my best effort. If our first session was any indication of the results he could get out from me, I figured it was best to just listen and do as he asked. I would follow his instructions and be a good little member of his army. At least this time, he had given me a reason for why I was pounding on the bag instead, I had a goal of sorts to work toward. We both had given in a little of our hard-headed attitude, although Jasper still wore his mask of determination. I decided I would stand at that bag everyday, black eyes be damned, if it meant Jasper would be right beside me watching and offering his suggestions the entire time. He didn't disappoint as I pounded relentlessly on the bag, as he instructed me to tuck in my elbow more and widen my stance, for almost an hour.

By the end, my arms were leaden and heavy. But I was satisfied with my effort and pleased that Jasper didn't seem to feel the need to push me into snapping like last time. _Hooray for tiny miracles. _I understood that he was trying to help hone another facet to use in my defence against a southpaw. I couldn't find it in me to hate him for his methods, especially when he smiled at me when he said we were finished. I'd do it all again if it kept that proud smile on his face.

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I know, it's a shorty chapter...but I wanted to give you something before I left.

There's a link on my profile of Bella's tattoo if anyone wanted to see it.

Finally, I want to say thanks for all the alerts, favourites and reviews this story has recieved. And, even if you don't review, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to read my words.

~TheFaintHeart.


	9. Falling and Flying

I'm baaaaack! Sorry for the delay folks! If you are at all interested in my reasons for not posting for the last three months, there's a laundry list on my profile. I won't repeat it here because we all know, nobody really wants to read them. LOL

Just a few things, I'd like to suggest, if you haven't done so already, take a look at **Ringside Revelations**. I've added another chapter on there; it's Jasper's POV from when he met Bella.

I also posted my Fandom for Preemies one shot titled **The Silent Watcher**, so check that out too if you get a chance.

What else…? Oh yeah, not mine, nor was this beta'ed.

I'm on twitter if anyone was interested (at)TheFaintHeart Come have a chat with me, I spend an ungodly amount of time over there.

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I won't make a habit of doing this, but just as a reminder here's what happened in the story so far:

Jasper joined the boxing club Bella and Emmett attend. Bella was not very happy about that. Jimmy in his wisdom, suggested Jasper help give pointers to Bella on how to fight against a southpaw. Carlisle has cleared Bella to fight again after the concussion she suffered after her fight against Lauren. Jasper and Bella have had two training sessions together thus far and she is quickly changing her mind about Jasper's presence.

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**Chapter 9: Falling And Flying**

"I've seen George Foreman shadow boxing and the shadow won." ~ George Foreman

Monday afternoon at the Y was a lesson in avoidance. Angela was constantly seeking me out. I knew what she wanted; gossip. I was certain she would hunt me all over the building until her curiosity was satiated. But her need for 'Bella Story Time' wasn't as strong as my need to keep all Jasper related information strictly confidential. At least until I could figure out what his angle was. His hot and cold routine was giving me whiplash; I wished he would make up his mind on how he felt about me and stay on that side. Either he liked helping me or he didn't. It should be simple really, one would think. Then again, maybe he was having the same difficulty as I had been having- I knew how I felt, albeit after much internal strife and rubber arm twisting, I could finally admit to myself that I was attracted to Jasper- I was just so conflicted as to what I should do about it.

I've never subscribed to the idea of mixing business and pleasure. Sure, I'd been hit on quite a bit in the past at tournaments and exhibition matches but I was able to put a stop to it by keeping close to Emmett's side. Not many guys were willing to approach a girl when she was next to Emmett, especially the way our relationship was. Simply put, Emmett was a handsy kind of guy. He was always tugging on my hair, a habit that carried over from our childhood, or squeezing my shoulders, or my least favourite- finding new ticklish places. When we were at matches, whenever we weren't fighting we could often be found sitting side by side sharing a pair of ear buds listening to my ipod, because mine had all the good music on it according to Emmett. Truthfully, I couldn't remember the last time I'd even seen Emmett with his own ipod.

After the end of my last yoga class and a few questions from a couple of the novice members wondering when the next level would be offered, I hightailed it to the trainer's lounge to grab my things so I could make a hasty retreat. I was a mere ten feet away from the exit door when Ang's persistence paid off.

"What's the hurry, Bella? Got a hot date you didn't tell me about?" she asked.

"No. No date. Well, that's not exactly true..." I intentionally let the sentence drop off, watching as her face lit up.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. There's a bathtub with my name on it at home, I've been thinking about it all day," I said with seriousness, but was then unable to contain my laugh as Angela's face scrunched up at the lack of juicy gossip.

"I see what you're doing, Bella. I'll let it slide for now. But you know you can talk to me, right?"

I sighed, nodding my head, "I know, Ang. Thanks. I just...I...I want to have shit figured out in my head before I open it up for discussion, you know?"

"Of course. I remember how messed up my head was when I was pining for Ben," she gave an encouraging smile, daring me to deny what she was insinuating. I took the bait.

"I am NOT pining!" _Fine, I totally was, but I wasn't going to tell her that._

"You're not? Could have fooled me. Tell you what…" she said thoughtfully. "I'll let you marinade for the week. You have a match this weekend, right? If you can honestly tell me by next Monday that your only issue and reason for feeling put out is because Jasper is at the club and he's taking all of Jimmy's attention, I'll retract my previous statement." Angela's face was neutral. She'd make a good poker player if I didn't already know she would never take back what she'd said. She was one of the few people I've met in my life that told you exactly what they thought and didn't blow smoke up your ass.

"Fine. And, sorry for avoiding you today," I gave her sheepish grin as I edged my way closer to the exit. I didn't want to be around if she had a change of heart and decided to put me in her interrogation seat, I'd never survive, we both knew that.

"You're forgiven. Just remember, one week from today you tell me everything. I'd come to your match to see for myself if Ben and I didn't already have plans to go out of town," she stepped aside and held her hand out, showing off the door like a model from The Price is Right. "Go on, I've got another class to teach anyways."

I didn't wait around to ask, but her faint laugh was enough for me to know she actually would have shown up to Fight Night with the sole purpose of dissecting both my and Jasper's actions rather than watching any of the fights.

…

The next morning's workout at Jimmy's lacked any sort of excitement. It wasn't a day Jasper and I had planned to meet but I still hoped he might make an appearance of some sort. My reasoning was simple; he had to train too, right? I ran for thirty minutes; no Jasper. I half-assed my way through another twenty minutes of yoga; no Jasper. I beat the shit out of that stupid speed bag, like he demanded; still no Jasper. I couldn't even enjoy the catchy musical sounds of Andrew WK pounding through the speakers overhead.

After lifting weights long enough that my arms felt like jell-o, I decided I was being one of those girls; the ones who called themselves Boxer Babes but in my head, I preferred the term Boxer Bimbos. No, I did not want to be known for waiting around, dragging out my usual training session just to get a glimpse of Jasper. Besides, it was clear he wasn't coming in this morning.

As a last-ditch effort to eat up some time, even after a mental scolding at how Ang would say 'I told you so, Bella', I made my way over to the heavy bags. I didn't have any classes to teach at the Y in the afternoon and wanted to completely exhaust my body; I decided kicking out my frustration would be fun. I couldn't actually do any kicking in the ring, so I didn't normally work on my kicks. Needless to say, it was a good thing the gym was empty for the pathetic display of skills I was showing off.

Angry with myself, I put all my remaining energy into a final round kick. It wasn't nearly a high as it could have been but it was powerful enough to send the bag swinging. Of course, I didn't take into account the laws of physics as the bag made the return trip toward me, knocking me flat on my ass.

The air wooshed out of me and I made a groan as I lay on the floor trying to catch my breath. It was safe to say I'd be sufficiently sore for the remainder of the day and probably the next as well.

"You're not going to win any fights laying around, you know"

"Go away," my retort was lacking any of its usual sarcasm.

"Not a chance. I want to savour this sight. It's not every day my favourite girl is taken down by an inanimate object," he chuckled.

"Shut up and help me up, Emmett."

"And gracious too." I rolled my eyes at the humour in his voice but accepted his hands as he held them out to pull me to my feet. "You look tired."

I shrugged in response, I was tired. "What are you doing here? Don't you have to work today? No housewives that need an extra special massage today?"

"Funny. My shift at the spa starts in an hour. I had some extra time and wanted to stop by, I haven't seen you in a few days. How things were going with Jasper?"

"Good, I suppose. He helped me with the speed bags yesterday."

Emmett's booming laughter echoed throughout the gym and he somehow managed a volume louder than I had the music playing at. He took my chin in his hand and turned my face this way and that way, making a big show of looking for any damage.

"I see you made it out alive," he finally managed to spit out between the lingering chuckles.

"Har, har. He's a better teacher than you, Mr. Just-hit-the-bag-Bella." My attempt at imitating his voice only refuelled Emmett's laughter.

"Who's a better teacher?" At the sound of another voice, I spun on my heels already knowing who the voice belonged to and was relieved that my earlier exertion had already caused a flushed face and would hide the embarrassment I could feel creep up from my chest at being caught talking about him. I didn't say anything, I wanted to, but I didn't get a chance because Emmett, who was just waiting for an opening, quickly answered Jasper's question, helping me dig the hole a little deeper.

"You are. Bella tells me you managed to get her on the speed bags yesterday? You know she NEVER goes on those things, right?" Emmett's confession caused Jasper to look at me questioningly.

"Not never," I said in a small voice. I didn't want Jasper to think I had lied to him.

"It might as well be, for all the effort you put into hitting the bag," Emmett corrected then turned to address Jasper, "did she tell you why she avoids them?"

"No, she didn't," Jasper replied still looking directly at me. I broke eye contact and looked at the floor, wishing for a trap door to open so I could fall through it and away from this conversation. It was a wasted wish and I instantly regretted brushing off any further explanation yesterday when Jasper had originally asked. Having Emmett tell the story would be much worse than it needed to be. He would likely add embellishments and probably even act it out.

"Emmett..." I warned, but it fell on deaf ears.

I stood there, watching mortified as he not only told the story, with a terribly high pitched voice I had assumed to be me, but he even managed to act it out, complete with slow-motion head whip and pitiful sounding cry at the end. Or maybe the crying was me.

I didn't say anything as Emmett laughed and Jasper politely chucked at my expense.

"Why didn't you say you were afraid of the speed bags? I wouldn't have forced you to use them," he said, concern etched across his face.

"It was no big deal. Besides, I'm not afraid of the bags." _It's more like a healthy respect. _

"Respect my ass. You avoided the speed bags until Jimmy demanded you to start using them," Emmett corrected.

"Whatever, I'm going to change. I'm done for the day." I didn't wait for any further comments as I made my cowardly retreat to the locker room. I should have been able to laugh at myself, I'd done so easily in the past when Emmett told that story to the other guys. But this was Jasper, he was different and I didn't want him to see me as weak.

My hand wraps pulled off easily as I paced the length of the small change area in front of the lockers. Jimmy never did tie them tight enough for me, despite my encouragement to do so. Now that I thought about it, Emmett usually tied them a little too tight. Jasper however, always managed to tie them just right. Did that make me Goldilocks? My indecision would put a tick in the 'yes' column. But then, who was my Bid Bag Wolf? _Wrong fairytale. _My life was definitely not a fairytale, it was actually pretty vanilla, until recently. I was downright predictable with my routine, but that was all before Jasper threw a detour in my carefully mapped-out plan. I'd been trying to do a U-turn ever since; I didn't like not having control over my life.

"Get a grip, Bella," I said aloud to myself.

I sat down on the bench and untied my boots toeing them off, my socks quickly following. I wriggled my toes a little after having been in the boots for nearly three hours. Then peeled off my sweaty top and shorts, feeling like a snake shedding its skin. My hair elastic was all that remained. My fingers slowly worked the long, damp strands free as I walked to the shower area.

I turned on the water as hot as I could tolerate in my shower stall. It was mine because I was the only female in the club and, I had claimed it with a little wire basket hanging from the shower head with my shampoo, conditioner and body wash. I could have just waited until I got home and had another long bath, but I wanted to kill some time. Enough time that I could ensure that if Jasper was here to train, he'd be occupied when I finished and I could sneak out without him noticing like he had managed to sneak in without my noticing.

That's when a thought registered in my mind, Jimmy must have fixed the door's click; that was the only answer I could come up with for how Jasper had managed to arrive and catch me off guard twice in the same week.

I took my time to wash up and then lingered in the water for a while longer letting it wash away my annoyance at Emmett and frustration at Jasper's sneak attack. Once I felt I had my emotions firmly in hand, did I shut off the water.

As I pulled back the curtain and reached for where my towel was supposed to be, I realized, I'd forgotten to bring it from my locker. I wasn't concerned about anyone seeing me, so I padded my way to my locker, pulling out my fluffy over-sized towel and secured it under my arms.

After getting dressed and towel drying my hair as much as I could, I finger combed it and left it alone. My muscles were already starting to ache from the workout and I was looking forward to a quiet afternoon. I shoved my things into my bag so I could take them home to wash and said a little prayer that I could slip past Jasper and Emmett if he was still around unnoticed.

I was pathetic enough that I opened the door a small crack so I could take a quick survey, nobody in sight. I smiled to myself as I pulled the door wide open and quickly made my way to the front. I had my hand on the knob when I remembered my ipod. Someone had shut off the music, but left it nestled in the docking station.

I was scrolling through my songs looking for something suitable for my walk home as I called my goodbye to Jimmy in his office.

"Don't forget, tomorrow is weigh-in. Be here by nine," he reminded, I rolled my eyes.

"Have I ever been late, Jimmy?" I mumbled to myself as I stepped out of the gym.

It was an overcast day, but still relatively warm so I didn't bother to put my jacket on, instead I tucked it into my bag and slid my arms through the straps. My long-sleeved thermal Henley would keep me warm enough. I pulled on my sunglasses despite the lack of direct sunlight and began my walk, wearing the glasses would be a good deterrent for anyone who tried to make eye contact on the way home.

I was approaching the entrance to the parking lot and took a quick, cautionary look up to make sure no cars were headed in my direction. And that's when I saw it, Jasper leaning on his bike talking with Emmett. He looked pissed off but I couldn't be certain from my distance. I could see the tension in Emmett's shoulders and his one hand shoved into the front pocket of his jeans. He was gesturing vaguely in the space between his body and Jasper's. This wasn't unusual for Emmett as he normally talked with his hands, but the aggressive movements gave me an indication as to what his face might look like had he been facing my way. I knew it wouldn't be his easy, care-free smile. No, I had only seen his actual angry face directed at me a hand full of times, but it was permanently etched in my memory. Lips would be pressed into a firm line, eyes cold and narrowed, staring intently at his object of loathing. That object seemed to be Jasper and whatever he was saying.

I didn't really feel like breaking up a fight, and thankfully Emmett decided the conversation was over because he was walking swiftly to his Jeep and started it up with a roar. In his current state, it would be a few hours before anyone could talk sensibly to him. Em was the type to need to mull things over, especially if he felt he wasn't in the wrong.

I stepped back into the shadow of the gym, pushing myself flush against the wall, waiting for them to leave. Whatever they were angry about, I didn't want any part of it.

I didn't have to wait long, Emmett's Jeep sped quickly out of the parking lot and then I heard the rumble of Jasper's Harley as he started it up.

Feeling like it was safe enough to come out of hiding now that Emmett had left and Jasper was obviously on his bike, ready to leave, I retraced my earlier steps, ready to begin my walk home. I looked up to see Jasper rev his engine and slowly drive toward the parking lot exit and by default, me.

I tried my best to ignore him, it didn't work. At least I couldn't complain that he snuck up on me again; I'd have to be deaf not to hear the rumble of his bike. I quickened my pace, hoping to avoid having him stop to let me pass. But I only made things worse; it seemed Jasper was intent on talking with me by the way he increased the speed of his bike. I think he may have even called out my name but the noise of the engine swallowed the words as they fell from his lips.

I was pathetic enough to pretend I didn't see his hand waving at me to wait. Only when he drove his bike directly in my path, forcing me to stop did I look up at him.

"Bella," he yelled out over the bike.

"What?" I yelled back.

"I...I wanted to..." he paused mid thought and reached for the keys in the ignition, turning it off. "That's better. I wanted to talk with you for a second. You're not in a hurry are you?"

I could answer him one of two ways, truthfully or with a lie. I was a terrible liar; he would notice my quivering lip without being told to look for it. I decided to try the truth instead.

"Not really, but I'd like to get home soonish so I can eat lunch and I still have a forty minute walk. Can we make it quick?" He nodded but didn't immediately say anything. He seemed to be searching for the right words.

"It's about what Emmett said, back in the gym."

"Look, I'm embarrassed enough about suffering two black eyes from the speed bags as it is and would rather we just forget about it, OK?" I pleaded.

"What?" he asked confused.

"I said-"

"I heard what you said," he interrupted, then continued, "but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"It's not? What else did Emmett say that would require us to have a discussion?"

"He brought up a valid point that I never took the time to consider. I was too busy trying to help to see it, though."

"Jasper, what are you talking about?"

He took a deep breath, releasing the air in a long sigh. "Why didn't you tell me you were afraid of the speed bags?"

"I told you it was fine," I reassured him.

"But it wasn't fine. I saw your hesitation when I told you what I wanted to do, but I still pushed you anyway. You should have said something to me. We could have done something else."

Concerned Jasper was cute; he had a little crease between his eyebrows where they were almost touching from concentrating so hard.

"Don't worry about it. If I really didn't want to hit the speed bags, you couldn't have made me. Besides, I knew it would be fine," I said with a smile.

"How?"

"Easy. Remember when I wasn't putting my full force into it and you told me to tuck in my elbows?"

"Yeah."

"That's when I knew I could hit it harder and nothing would happen to me," I replied with a shrug. Jasper still had the concerned look so I elaborated further, "I could tell you were watching my technique and all the little suggestions you made helped so I was able to trust that if I hit it wrong or things got out of hand, you'd be there to stop the bag from doing any harm."

He didn't say anything for a few moments and I was starting to worry I had read him wrong. I was about to fumble my way through an excuse but Jasper found his voice first.

"Of course I would have. But from now on, I need you to be completely honest with me. If I suggest something and you aren't comfortable with it, you have to tell me, OK?"

"Sure. But I don't want you to take it easy on me just because you are worried about me. I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that you can't."

"Alright, well, I'll see you tomorrow at the weigh-in then." I began to walk around his bike but his hand on my arm stopped me.

"Did you want a ride?" he asked sounding hopeful. Something told me Jasper wasn't the type to offer rides, it was likely the opposite; girls asking for a ride.

"No, that's fine." I answered and his face fell a little. "It's just that I don't see a second helmet and Charlie would KILL me if he knew I rode a bike without one."

"Wait, I do have an extra helmet," he smiled as he twisted awkwardly to reach the side bag I hadn't noticed and magically produced another helmet. It wasn't like Jasper's military helmet but it was very feminine looking and had a small rose decal on the back. I didn't want to even think about how many different girls had wore it. "See? Now you have no excuse." He held it out in front of me expectantly. He was right. I didn't really have a good excuse anymore. And I did want to go for a ride.

I rolled my eyes at myself. I probably would have ridden it without a helmet, Charlie's wrath be damned, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"OK." I reached up, running my hands through my hair, pushing it out of my face and grabbed the helmet, securing it in place with the chin strap. I quickly tucked my ipod into the pocket of my pants and looked up assessing the beautiful red bike.

"Hop on!" he said excitedly. I returned his warm smile and took his offered hand as I swung my leg over the seat. Once I was settled with a respectable distance between us, he turned his head and spoke over his shoulder, "where to?"

I gave him directions to my townhouse and he started up the engine, revving it a few times. I could feel the power underneath me as I gripped onto the sides of the seat.

"Give me your hand," Jasper called loudly over the bike.

I held my hand out expecting him to hand me something. Instead, he grabbed it and wrapped it around his abdomen, placing my hand on his waist.

"Oh." I replied lamely. I could feel warmth on my cheeks but managed to hide my face between his shoulders as I reached around with my other hand.

"It'll help keep the bike balanced better if you lean with me when we turn," he offered in explanation. I nodded my head even though he couldn't see it.

He inched the bike to the edge of the parking lot exit. When a couple of cars had passed, he turned onto the street. The jerky movement startled me and I slid as close to him as I could so that the inside of my legs were straddling the outside of his, then I tightened my arms and my hands found purchase on his belt. I though I heard him chuckle but couldn't be certain over the acceleration of the bike as we gained speed.

After a few minutes I was able to relax and began to enjoy the ride. I tried to ignore the way my body felt practically wrapped around his, but his solid warmth and the flexing of his muscles at the slightest movements was doing dangerous things to me. He was also wearing a long-sleeved shirt and hadn't bothered with his leather jacket. While the leather was hot, if he had wore it, I wouldn't have been able to feel so close to him and would have had to imagine the way he felt instead of experiencing it for myself. I was enjoying this ride far too much for my own good.

The wind was a bit cool, but it felt nice. My hair was flying behind me and I imagined it to look somewhat like a superhero's cape. I was going to have a hard time brushing the tangles out. I couldn't be bothered to care.

It didn't take long for Jasper to pull into the parking lot of the complex. I pointed out my Expedition and he expertly pulled the bike into my second parking spot. My hands were still clutching his belt as he shut off the bike. I was sad the ride was over.

I gave him a small squeeze in thanks and let go. He held out his hand again and I took it for balance as I climbed off the bike.

"Thanks, Jasper. That was really fun." I smiled at him as I unfastened the strap and handed him the helmet back. I ran my fingers through my hair trying to fight off the hat-hair as he slipped the helmet back into the side bag he had originally pulled it from. My fingers kept getting caught up on the knots so I gave up.

He looked up at me with a large lazy grin and replied, "no problem, Bella. Any time you want another ride, just let me know."

I didn't want to read too far into his statement so I just smiled back at him. "See you tomorrow, Jasper. We're still training after the weigh-in, right?"

He nodded and replied with his own devilish smirk, "yes, I've got to show you how to kick something without falling over now."

I rolled my eyes at him and stepped up onto the sidewalk. "Goodbye, Jasper."

"Goodbye, Bella," he mimicked.

I turned and walked up the steps. I listened as he started the bike when I reached the top. I unlocked the door and forced myself not to turn around to look at him one last time as I walked into my house. I'd be seeing him again in less than twenty-four hours.

* * *

The next chapter is the weigh-in and Fight Night. Who is excited to see The Major fight? I know I am. *wags eyeborws*

I'm up for suggestions for more JPOV. Let me know what you want and I'll do my best to write another snippit! It can be anything really, missing moments, what Jasper thought during a particular scene. I'll choose the one that gets the most requests, unless it gives away important plot lines that I'm not ready to reveal just yet.

Those of you kind enough to review get to choose between an "extra special massage" from Emmett or a ride on Jasper's bike. What to choose, what to choose?

Thanks as always for reading!

~TheFaintHeart


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